


Freedom Dies With Me

by MyNameIsMarkus



Series: The Old World (Pre-2017 fics) [3]
Category: Freedom Planet (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Timeline, Alternate Universe, Cerberus - Freeform, Corruption, Dark, Darkfic, Death, Denial, Gen, Hatred, Heroine, Hurt, Hysteria, Multiverse, Torture, Vigilante, War, betreyal, blade - Freeform, fixfix, freedom planet, hero - Freeform, multiverse hub, plot holes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-20 18:42:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 101,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14267229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyNameIsMarkus/pseuds/MyNameIsMarkus
Summary: With the world destroyed due to the rampages of an insane Sash Lilac, Multiverse Vigilante Traveller must return to the past and, alongside his Blade of Hysteria, help the original Lilac and her friends fight the forces of Lord Brevon while also saving her sanity. Little does he know of the dangers his involvement may bring to the timeline, as the red eyes of insanity hang over him...





	1. Prologue: A Life Not Lived

**Author's Note:**

> Well...here it is. Kind of the story that made me even vaguely notable. An attempt at a What If concerning Freedom Planet's infamous torture session, slowly turning into something else entirely. I give you...Freedom Dies With Me: A Freedom Planet Alternative Timeline Story. I'm gonna be honest with you, this isn't as great a story as I thought it was. Dialogue is poor, character motivations don't make much sense and a lot of things just...fall flat. So, read at your own risk, I guess? Also, it's not canon, due to a reboot or two since its publication. That said, here we go;
> 
> DeviantART Link for the Prologue: https://masterperrymartin.deviantart.com/art/Freedom-Dies-With-Me-PROLOUGE-547880143

_"It's all based on something I like to call...The Sound of Madness theory. Everyone hears that little voice in their head every now and again, don't they? That little baritone buzz in the back of your brain, the one that wants you to cause so much misery. The voice that wants you to yell, to punch, to steal...to kill. The average person would just ignore it...but all you need is one bad day...and that voice becomes your own."_  
  
Perry Martin Presents:  
  
**FREEDOM DIES WITH ME: A FREEDOM PLANET ALTERNATIVE STORY  
  
Prologue: A Life Not Lived**  
  
Another day in hell and, once more, the sky was boiling.  
  
Master awoke with a steady start, his eyes reddened and weeping. His lungs felt flat from the stale air that wandered the lands and only the sound of crackling fires and way-off screaming caught the pits of his ears. He slowly arched his head up, his neck aching and stiff, as he looked at the world around him. The world had blurred into blends of reds and greens. The crimson sky was continuously lit by flashes of lightning and the every now again the nearby scenery was dotted with green flashes that left behind verdant flames. The area was in ruins, with broken buildings almost everywhere, with the parts of a long since gone casino everywhere they could possibly be. The smell of burnt wood and stale blood fled to Master's nose and left miserable stenches behind to ensure total hell. Master coughed twice and scrambled to his feet, but lost his footing and collapsed back to his knees. He felt weak and bitter, like someone had beaten the tar out of him and he had not had a good chance to recover. He sat up, droopy-eyed and shaking oddly, before reaching for his two main holsters secured to his belt.   
  
The first holster held his trusted Desert Eagle, nicknamed "Vergil" by various people, and as always it retained its two-tone finish and rails. Master slid out the extended magazine and checked the magazine window. 10 rounds. Good. Vaguely satisfied, Master slipped the gun back into its original holster and checked his other one. This one often held the accursed Blade of Hysteria that Master was forced to carry around with him. A demonically-possessed blade that held the key to great power, but had one hell of a mouth on it as some twisted compensation. The Blade had gotten better with age alongside its wielder, but it was still bloodthirsty, mad enough to drive even the most stable of individuals to war-craving insanity. Master shook his head to clear out the dark thoughts and reached for the Blade itself. Oddly enough, it was gone. Master could still feel its presence nearby, so it wasn't stolen, thank Chaos. Master forced himself to his feet and stumbled across the hellish wastelands. Even with his trusty (and large) scarf and sunglasses, the particle-heavy winds still managed to scratch and damage his face. He nevertheless pressed on, calling out into the winds.  
  
"Blade?" came the first call, weak at first but then slowly increasing in strength, "Blade! Where are you, man?"  
  
"Don't worry, kiddo!" Came that old voice, a voice laced with gravel and wit, "You don't need to go far."  
  
Master turned around to see the Blade's distinctive green glow hovering below him. The Blade was half-embedded in the loose soil that made up what wasn't rubble within the landscape, its handle still identifiable despite its colours blending in so well with the dark shades. Master stumbled to the soil and grabbed the handle, yanking the Blade out with a single strong pull. In an instant, the Blade's powers spread up his arm and across his body, returning the lost strength and enabling him to stand up in the grainy wind.  
  
"Nice to see you again..." Master sighed, "At least I found someone. Where's Emma? Where's the Village? Where the hell are we?"  
  
"I don't know..." Blade said, seemingly trying to shrug with no arms, "This place doesn't match any area we've been to before, visually or coordinates-wise. Best guess, it's a brand new universe. Or at the very least the same universe within a different timeline."  
  
"Sounds reasonable..." Master said, rubbing his forehead, "The last thing...that last thing I remember was looking at this portal that just opened up in the village centre. And then this...this hand reached out and then everything went black. What about you?"  
  
"Same," Blade said, "Kinda strange, don't you think? Right...first things first, we better find out where and maybe when we are. Find a computer of some sort. Gotta be a functional one around here somewhere."  
  
"Yeah...better get going..." Master said, digging out his Deagle and relocating the Blade to his off right hand, beginning to walk towards the nearest building he could see with functional lights, "Hey, Blade? Where do you think we are? I mean, this place looks like a desert, but its got a perfectly urban city look to this rubble. What the hell happened here?"  
  
"Well, with my reckoning, either the world has ended and a being of immense power has managed to pull a meteor-sized spaceship out of orbit and smash it into the Earth, pulling up a dust storm large enough to swallow an entire continent...or we're in Spec Ops: The Line again. Either situation is equally harrowing."  
  
"Yeah, I'm with ya..." Master sighed once more. Both stopped talking at this point and Master had picked up his pace, jogging from street to empty street to find a working computer. He came across a street, as abandoned and as broken down as the rest, yet managed to emphasise and outline the devastation of the rest of the world that Master was currently stuck in. At the left were houses, brick and mortar, with windows best described as strips of scarred glass rather than whole panes. The doors were kicked in and what seemed to be light blue fluid was on and around them. To the right were two shops. One of some sort of market-type area, with windows once again smashed to shreds, and it looked obvious that whoever or whatever was alive in this wasteland had helped themselves to food and drink. Master himself stopped by the shop to see if there was anything was still salvageable. Somehow, one of the mini fridges that often lined the walls of any newsagents still functioned, giving off a milky white and cold as ice light that contrasted quite sharply with the rest of the area. Master plucked a bottle of cola out the machine and checked its condition. It seemed to be unopened and in date, so Master took it with him.  
  
"Hmm. A bottle of cola," Master said, slipping it into his jacket pocket, "That'll come in handy."  
  
"At the very least it gives us a better idea of when we are," Blade mentioned off-handedly, "I'm seeing all sorts of drinks that aren't even patented, let alone sold around where we come from, original universe OR otherwise. Perhaps, then, this is some sort of future."  
  
"I hope not," Master said, visibly annoyed, "I'm kind of sick of stumbling across post-apocalyptic futures like this. Crisis City, Mobius-Reboot, Heddgehoggia...urgh."  
  
"Well look on the bright side," Blade said, once again shrugging in a non-visible manner, "Even if it is a post-apocalyptic world, at least it's not one you created. For once."  
  
"...You sure?" Master said. He stumbled back outside and studied the other shop. It was a jeweller with the windows once more smashed, with the remains of a watch and some gold chains scattered across the road. More of the blue gunk from the broken doors was slathered across the glass shards and across the floor in lumps, one of which Master knelt down to, "Anyway, what do you think this stuff is?"  
  
"What, this blue stuff?" Blade asked, "I don't know. Doesn't look like anything I've ever seen. Could be blood, tears, stomach contents...bowel contents, I don't know! Stick my blade into the gunk and I'll see what I can do."  
  
"...Didn't expect to hear that today..." Master said before removing Blade from his holster and plunging him into the gunk. A few otherworldly sounds emitted and then ceased just as fast as they had started. Master dragged the blade out of the gunk and wiped off the residue, "Well?"  
  
"WOOH!" came the Blade's unusual reply, "Wow! That's nothing I'VE ever tried before. Damn, it was like a shot to the heart! Well, if I had one. As for what that stuff is...well, energy. Really, really, REALLY concentrated energy. I've never seen such a strong small puddle of bright blue gunk."  
  
"Hmm," Master said, wiping at his muzzle, "It seems that whoever did this had access to power far beyond us. Something as powerful as the Master Emerald, at least. Well, that just makes me more interested in who this creature who turned the world to dust and super-jam actually is...we better get back on the road."  
  
Master continued forward, every step making a crunch on the fragile and barely there road. Every street was almost identical to the last, each filled with houses stuffed to the chimneys with glass shards and debris. Everywhere laid scattered food and accessories and the light blue gunk clung to everything like giant blood drops. The gunk and its contents still clung to Master's mind like a dark thought. There was only one thing in his knowledge of the multiverse that could compare to this seemingly massive power output outside of the Master Emerald. It was something called the Kingdom Stone and it was said that it manifested in some way several millennia ago to help a tribe ascend to the point of seemingly gods. But all Master himself knew of this was nothing more than a mere rumour, nothing more than the sort of bold-faced tale spun by ego-driven and maniacal fools wishing to get into the bed of some young and pretty harlequin. Master himself was young, but had lived long, and knew a lot about the multiverse he used to roam as an outcast to his own people, but even he did now know if this Stone was real and if it was to blame for this devastation if it was. He and Blade alike had seen worlds where the energy of the earth had been shifted to remould the universe into the image of a mad man's dream, but to have a single stone contain more energy than the world and cause apocalyptic levels of damage? Neither could believe it.  
  
Eventually, the two made it to what seemed to be a functioning building, but it was deserted. It was a library of some type, one that seemed to scream with the echoes of a past world. Master slashed his way through the doors and looked inside. The library was grand, a true two-story affair with bookcases lining every wall. In the centre of the building stood a group of computers, each broken and long since disabled, but thankfully there was a final one just beyond them. It was large, the screen itself as large as the double doors Master has just cut open and the controls a similar size. Master ran to the console and turned it on. It responded with a few chimes and started up, showing the image of an orange on the bootup. The computer opened up on a login screen, causing him to sigh, "Hmm. Well, I could just try to brute force it, but I fear I may not have enough time for that. Blade?"  
  
"Stab away!" Blade responded merrily. Master nodded and plunged the infernal thing deep into the computer. The computer sparked and the monitor went black for a short period of time, but soon resumed on a standard desktop, "Okay, we're in. What should I look for?"  
  
"Look for the history of the world," Master said with a banal sense of authority, "If this place is anything like Crisis City, then it will have news for just before the apocalypse, then it'll stop."  
  
"Hmmm..." Blade said. The screen flashed in various news reports, going by far too fast to read on a whim, but then stopped, "Well this is interesting. Get a load of this: The year is 2019, so we're not that far into the future. But what's even more interesting is that this has still been updated since then. In fact, the most recent submission was just yesterday. Since 2016 there seem to have be plans, locations, letters and stories for others in this group called the Red Scarves. All encrypted in really strange ways. Anyway, I've gone through the entire database to see what happened to this world and I've found the sort of date that may explain it. In 2015, this warrior turned up."  
  
"Warrior?" Master asked, head tilted to the side.  
  
"It doesn't specify," Blade said, "Just that it was a powerful and insane creature, once part of this world, that managed to indeed access this power and grab a meteor from space. The resultant impact wiped out one of the three cities on the continent and shrouded the others in a dust cloud. This Warrior then went on an exodus around the world, a bloody one at that, slaughtering all that resisted her rule. Hmm. Sound similar?"  
  
"Don't..." Master said quickly, keeping his head low and his past at the back of his head. He sighed, "A Warrior. A trickster bathed in the blood of a thousand innocent souls. A warlord who lives to kill. I'd hate to know who that person is..."  
  
"Guards! Call the Warrior! I have found him!"  
  
Master was going to continue, but he stopped. A hand, cold as ice and slightly spiky, had grabbed his shoulder and was in the process of spinning him around, The man was also a mobian-esqe creature, much like Master was, clad in ruined and barely functional ancient Japanese-type gear, including a samurai helmet and accompanying katana. His face was hidden by the large metal helmet, but Master could sense the man was not smiling. Far from it, he seemed furious.  
  
"It's you..." the man said, "The one she said would return, one day..."  
  
"Who?" Master asked, "What're you talking about?"  
  
"You should know, murderer..." the man sneered, "It was you who bought this chaos to this world. Destroyed a planet of freedom and hope. Left a smelly, disgusting wasteland in your wake. Either you come with me willingly...or I will drag you before her with shattered knees!"  
  
Master smiled under his scarf, "Guess we're going to find out soon enough...en guarde, guard!"  
  
The guard responded in turn, swinging wildly at Master with his sword. Master dodged out of the way, the small gust of wind from the moving blade blowing on his scarf slightly, before responding in kind by yanking Blade out of the computer and swinging at the guard. Blade ground against the guard's katana, a piercing shriek filling the room as it flew down the katana and into empty space, before Master followed up with a square kick to the chest. The guard stumbled back somewhat, clutching at the point of impact before he got up again and dashed forward. He swung wildly at Master, who responded with blocking the strike with Blade and swung back with appropriate force. The two clashed swords repeatedly, each impact and clash sending sparks and shrieks of steel high into the air, before Master gained the upper hand and thrust at the guard's sword arm. He missed by mere centimetres and the guard jumped back by response. He too thrust forward with his sword, and the length of his blade ensured a hit. The blade went straight through Master's arm, which caused him to yelp in shock and jump back too. Thankfully, the blade was deflected and went into his off arm, so Master was still able to clutch at Blade.  
  
"Damn, that was a sly one!" Blade called out as the two fighters paused for breath, "You okay, slugger?"  
  
"Yeah..." Master winced, clutching at the wound, "Damn guard nicked my arm, though."  
  
"Gotta love katanas!" the guard said, "So much more range! I know all about your Blade of Hysteria, how it drives people to madness, how it claims to be a powerful weapon of war. Ptth. Nothing more than a mere and glorified Bowie knife!"  
  
"Me? MERE?!" Blade said, the greens of his steel slowly changing to a deep red, "There's nothing MERE about me, bub! Your little blade is longer, but is it possessed? Does it glow? Hell, does it even lift?!"  
  
"...Dude, it's 2019," Master said wearily, "Even in our time period that joke's old."  
  
"Sorry..." Blade said, sounding quite sheepish, "Just thought I'd be hip, I...sorry. Look, it's just that I, you know, I think- NOW!"  
  
Before the guard could utter a gasp of surprise, Master gripped Blade and thrust it forward once more. Only this time the blade split into multiple segments, each attached with a rope-like metal coil, that extended far beyond the reach of even the katana. It zoomed past the computers and managed to plunge the tip deep into the opponent's stomach, causing him to gasp regardless. He could only stare dumbfound at the metal lodged in his abdomen as Master got a better grip on the blade's handle, a devious grin spread across his face, yet still subtle under the scarf. He growled...  
  
"Get over here."  
  
And pulled with all his might. The guard could not resist and flew at high speeds towards Master, who drew back with his good arm and unleashed a haymaker straight into the guard's head, sending him crashing to the ground. Master sighed and dug deep into his pockets. Out came a roll of bandages, from which Master drew out a long strip and severed with Blade before wrapping it around his arm wound.  
  
"Heh, the old 'confuse them with outdated memes' trick," Blade beamed, "Works every time."  
  
Master said nothing. He ripped off another piece to keep the original bandage in place and threw the rest to the guard. He looked up, dumbfounded, before grabbing the bandages. Master had by this point already grabbed the guard's sword and cleaved it in twain with Blade, scattering the fragments behind him.  
  
"You're...you're sparing me?" the guard asked, before getting shakily to his feet.  
  
"Of course," Master said.  
  
"But...but I heard the stories from her!" the guard said, "How you pull out nerves and stick hands in mincers! How you drain life energy and use it to revive lost relatives! How you just wail on enemies, cutting deep into flesh enough to simply cut us in two! Gouge out our eyes and squeeze the jelly out of them!"  
  
"Well, give us some credit," Blade huffed, "That stuff tastes REALLY good on flatbread."  
  
"I thought you were going to kill me gruesomely..." the guard shivered, "I thought you were a madman!"  
  
"Times change," Master sighed, sheathing Blade and walking forward, "I don't do that anymore. I only kill when I need to and I always make it quick. Well, with exceptions. But still, I'm not the crazy genocide enthusiast your batcrap crazy leader has painted me as. And, personally, I would like to see the madwoman who is spreading all these rumours about me. So I apologise for the corny line, but...take me to your leader."  
  
"Oh Chaos, how COULD you?" Blade huffed in disgust.  
  
The guard nodded and, after getting to his feet, grabbed Master lightly by the arm. He began to drag Master outside towards a line of guards, a lot more than at first estimated, all wearing the same garb with the same weaponry. The other guards began to look at the battered, weaponless and wounded guard who was marching out of the library, some with looks of pity and others looks of annoyance. Master was marched to the middle of a ring of the armoured guards, kept at sword-point, and made to wait.  
  
"So, boys..." Master said, "We're here!"  
  
"Heard of this leader spreading rumours about us!" Blade said, "We demand to see this porkie-pie leader!"  
  
"Oh, they're real facts..." came another voice, "Taken directly from you, after all..."  
  
Master noticed the voice easily. It was female, deep and clearly deranged, and incoming quickly. He turned to a gap in the ring of guards, some of which had parted and a woman was now inbetween them. She looked quite mature but not exactly old, being slightly taller than Master, and seemed to be some sort of wingless dragon. She was a purple colour, with some shades of what seemed to be a light shade, but was now almost totally replaced with a much darker and dirtier shade that was very close to a shade of black. Her hair was long, wild and unkempt but a single long tail-like appendage extended out of her hair and to around her ankles. Further inspection showed that there was room for a second that seemed viscously torn out, while the first was quite clearly some stuffed replacement that was dirty and hastily patched up with stained black tape. Perhaps most interesting was her face; her eyes seemed to be almost demonic in nature, being jet black with small red circular pupils, and her mouth was a small field of sharp fangs. Her clothes too looked almost innocent, but had been hastily patched up over the years with bandages, plasters and parts from totally different clothes, such as a black jacket with a red trim. Of those clothes, she was wearing a jacket, a pair of shorts, some boots and some gloves that too were heavily damaged, but not patched up enough to hide her claws. To complete the look were two horns on her head, stained black with ash and fire, and curving inwards like the horns of the Devil himself. This deranged woman's expression spoke of nothing but madness, a look Master knew all too well, and she slowly approached him in a stumbling manner with her own blade that continuously bleed a green liquid.  
  
"....Uh..." Master started, "Hello."  
  
"Master..." the dragon grinned, showing off even more of her fangs, "It's been a while."  
  
"Really?" Blade said, "Because it's been almost nothing for us! Literally."  
  
"Uh, uh, no!" Master said out loud, "Not that long for us, no...uh, could you give us a bit?"  
  
"...Fine," the being crossed her arms, "But don't be too long. I've waited a good four years to see you again."  
  
Master tugged on the enormous scarf that encircled his muzzle and hunched over and brought Blade close to his face, "Blade who is this?"  
  
"I don't know..." Blade said, "Doesn't look familiar, doesn't sound familiar, hell, doesn't even SMELL familiar!"  
  
"....You can smell?"  
  
"Look, the point is that I don't know who this person could possibly be," Blade said again, "Swear I've seen that weapon of her's before, though. Think it's a legendary blade, one used by this murderous guy to hack his way across the cosmos."  
  
"So another version of you?" Master asked.  
  
"No, I can't sense any spirit in the blade. And the only other Blade who could cause this much chaos is Atlus in the Blade of Control. Which you destroyed only last month. Best guess, it's a collector's item, a trophy for mad warmongers. It just depends on who this warmonger IS."  
  
"Yeah...I'll ask her," Master said. He sheathed Blade and looked back at the dragon girl, "So, I hear you are this Warrior. Been spreading a lot of things about me. I'd like to know just who you are in return, Miss..."  
  
"You...you don't remember me?" the dragon asked, looking a bit sad, "You don't know who I am? But....but you were there with me through it all. Well, maybe not YOU, but your...infernal blade. Oh trust me, YOU were a pain at first. Like, an absolute pain. But then you put that blade in my hand and then the power felt so...invigorating..."  
  
"And I don't remember you," Master said, "Perhaps I've forgotten. Refresh my memory a little."  
  
"...Alright then, if you really have forgotten..." the dragon walked forward a few paces and bowed politely, "I...am War Lilac. It used to be Sash Lilac, but then you...you came along and did all of this to me."  
  
"So you are this Warrior..." Master said, "You pulled a meteor out of the sky-"  
  
"Spaceship, darling," War Lilac said coyly, "Meteor-sized spaceship."  
  
"And swallowed this world in a dust bowl. Went on a rampage. Killed Chaos knows how many."  
  
"Because YOU wanted me to!" War Lilac yelled suddenly, "It was all part of YOUR plan..."  
  
"Plan?" Master asked finally, "Why would I want to enact a plan to demolish an entire planet? I've already done that! Twice! I was literally insane at the time! And with a name like War Lilac..." he sighed sadly, "I guess you are too."  
  
"Well, you don't have to be crazy..." War Lilac's grin widened even further, "But it helps. The guards of this wretched planet turned to me, thankfully. Even after following that fool, the Majister, they still know a good leader when they see one..." War Lilac stopped grinning, instead starting to frown, "I'm...you're not saying anything. Why aren't you reacting? You did this to me! You burrowed deep into my head and KILLED my innocence!"  
  
"You go about that like its a good thing!" Master said back, his own tone starting to harshen.   
  
"Because it is..." War Lilac said, "With your blade, you freed me. I've seen the light, seen the pigheadedness of my fellows. How such beings need to be killed to save a universe! I went on a kill-all rampage for FOUR YEARS just for you! Killed countless in YOUR honour! It's what YOU wanted!"  
  
"But I don't know you!" Master yelled back, "I'd never DO any of that! You're delusional and a madwoman! And it's my job to rid the multiverse of those. I did not create you!"  
  
"BUT YOU DID!" War Lilac screamed, dashing forward and striking with her blade. Master retaliated quickly and blocked, locking the two blades together, "YOU MADE ME! YOU KILLED ME! AND NOW YOU, CLEAR IMPOSTER THAT YOU ARE, WILL DIE FOR THE REAL MASTER!"  
  
"Wait, did she JUST say that we still made her and then instantly assumed we were imposters?" Blade asked, merely content about the conflict, "Heh, either she really is insane or just can't speak to save her life."  
  
"Not the first gal I've talked to who's said that," Master growled, struggling under War Lilac's immense strength, "Alright, Warsash, if you want to see what I can do, then bring it!"  
  
War Lilac responded, swinging wildly at Master and showing a clear lack of training. Master tried the same approach as with the guard, trying to run Blade down the length of War Lilac's own weapon, but the shorter length of it caught Master off guard and he stumbled forward. War Lilac gladly took this opportunity and planted both feet directly into Master's face. He flew a good distance and stopped, getting up quickly and thrusting forward with Blade. War Lilac countered and the two locked into a standoff, both Blades grinding against each other and throwing sparks into the sky.  
  
"You can't win, imposter!" War Lilac growled, her voice now warbling slightly from the emotional stress, "I WILL kill you!"  
  
"I've been doing this stuff for more than a mere four years, kid," Master said.  
  
"Yeah, your Blade isn't even possessed!" Blade retorted, "It doesn't fly, it doesn't talk, it can't shoot projectiles, it-"  
  
"Can't even lift?" War Lilac grinned, "Please, I know your tricks, Blade."  
  
"Hmm. You seem to be unsure about if we're the real deal," Blade said, "Despite the fact you know me and I'm talking to you."  
  
"I know!" War Lilac, seemingly breaking down somewhat, "Are you real? Are you not real? I DON'T KNOW ANYMORE!" another screech came with another strike from her blade, followed by another and another still. Master blocked them all, buckling down more and more each time, and then relocked with War Lilac, "And you're wrong, I DO have a ghost in here!"  
  
"Well, you don't," Blade said, "I checked the whole blade and there's nothing there."  
  
"Oh?" War Lilac asked, "Then maybe you should look closer..."  
  
War Lilac's blade began to whisper slightly, a whisper which quickly turned to a sobbing sound. Master held his ear closer to the blade and the sounds began to increase in volume. And, at the last second, a blood-curdling shriek filled the air. Master winced in pain and Blade was pushed back by some sort of force, taking Master with it. He crashed to the floor and slowly got to his feet again. He shook his head to rid himself of the ringing in his ears and thrust forward with Blade, once again extending the blade into segments. War Lilac was going to have none of that, however, and dodged, grabbing the tip of Blade in her hands. Her hand was cut and began to bleed in short order, but she did not seem to mind. Master knew in what little time he had to react that insanity could dull even the strongest of pains and this was no exception. War Lilac instead pulled on the segment and Master was yanked forward to her once more. He tried to strike with his off hand and catch her off guard, but War Lilac just caught it and threw his hand away before following up with a quick and nasty stab to the abdomen. Master had no time to react and merely dropped to the ground, clutching at his wound. Blade tumbled out of his hand and War Lilac was quick to scoop it up.  
  
"Tsk tsk..." War Lilac sneered, "Trying old tactics seemingly picked up elsewhere? For shame. What may have worked all those years ago no longer does. I know better. And I know you're not the Master I knew."  
  
"I'd like to think I'm better," Master growled, "Better than you, better than me..."  
  
"Better then Brevon?" War Lilac said back, "Oh yeah, you said you were better than him. And then look at what happened to him. His blood still coats my blade without end and my god..." she licked the blood off of her old blade and discarded it, "...it burns so good."  
  
"Pure-Bred Psycho," Blade said, "Just like the last guy."  
  
"Oh, don't I know it..." War Lilac turned to her guards, "My guards! I know that this...thing may look pitiful. I know I spun you tales of a madman who killed his way across the cosmos, a man bathed in the blood of a thousand galaxies, and this is clearly not that man. A mere imposter, maybe! But I implore you, one day you will see this actual Master. And you will see he has a lot of tricks up his sleeves..."  
  
A noisy crack whipped the air, sounding like a gunshot, and War Lilac stopped cold. She looked down at her stomach, where a particularly nasty-looking exit wound was now seated. She had no time to clutch at the wound and instead spun around to Master. He had propped himself up on his arm and was holding his Desert Eagle in his good left hand. He was shaking slightly from the shock and blood loss but nevertheless aimed at War Lilac with intent.  
  
"Like this?" Master huffed, "This the trick you're looking for? So for the last time, stand down!"  
  
War Lilac looked blank for a second, clearly working through the events in her head, but resumed a snarled look and leapt forward with the Blade of Hysteria held high. Master gave her no time and no more mercy, opening fire once more. The second bullet hit War Lilac in her arm and she dropped the Blade with a gasp. Master slowly got up and sighed; even insanity couldn't hold up to a volley of .50 Action Express. Master opened fire with the last eight rounds he had, some hitting War Lilac in her lower body, and some in her thighs and forearms. Finally, the slide locked back empty with an empty clicking noise and Master lowered the gun. War Lilac was gasping, a look of shock and sadness spread across her face before she gasped a final time and fell backwards, hitting the reddened soil with a soft thump. Master looked up wearily at the other guards, each one looking on with shock spread across their faces, expecting nothing but death. Instead, the guards backed off slightly, including the guard he had disarmed only a few minutes previous.  
  
"Only when necessary..." the guard parroted, "And always quick."  
  
Master sighed and collapsed to the floor again. He skidded over to Blade and grabbed him once more, who retorted with, "Well...you got her."  
  
"I didn't want to do that, dammit," Master sighed, cupping his head in his wounded off-hand, "I wanted to stop her peacefully. I wanted to talk to her, figure out what went wrong."  
  
"Well you'll never get that chance again..." Blade sighed too, "Chaos, I'm getting too old for this crap."  
  
Master got up again and stumbled over to the other blade that War Lilac had discarded, as the various guards only looked on in shock.  
  
"They're not attacking us," Master said, picking up the blade, "Heh. Guess they've never seen someone put down this War Lilac...four years..." he sighed, then checked the blade. It still glowed a sickly green from the liquids crossing its surface, very similar to his own Blade, and the sobbing still rang out.  
  
"P-Please..." the voice said, a female one that wavered and sobbed at every opportunity, "It's dark in here...h-help me."  
  
Blade's glow dimmed as if it was going pale, "What the..."  
  
"There he is...THERE HE IS!" came another voice, "GET 'UM!"  
  
There was almost no time to react before a cavalry people came rushing out of the library, weapons like spears and flails in hand, screaming all the while. The guards took one look at the new army and, now leaderless, ran for the hills. They vanished over the horizon and new ones flooded in. They were of various species and ages, each wearing ragged clothing and, perhaps most strangely, red rags around their muzzles, much like Master himself with his scarf. They too formed a ring around Master and what he assumed to be their leader stepped forward. She was tall, pale and green, with large floppy ears and a small button nose, alongside green markings across her face and body. She was the best dressed out of all the others, actually wearing non-damaged clothes, specifically a black shirt with black demin shorts and a pale leather jacket over it, she too with a red scarf which only hung loosely around her neck. She was also quite battle damaged, with a mechanical hand, bandaged ear and a single black eyepatch wrapped around her. Her face was one that Master could guess was quite broken; the sunken eye, the wrinkled scour, the unending stare and so much more. She approached Master with her glares and, before he could get out a proper hello out, punched him square in the face. He leapt back and dropped War Lilac's blade, which she picked up and held to his throat, mere inches away from the scarf.  
  
"Christ, why does everyone want to kill me today?!" Master yelled out in weariness.  
  
"You..." the woman pressed the blade closer, "You have a LOT of nerve coming back here, Murderer..."  
  
"Goddamn it, I don't know any of you!" Master yelled a final time, "I'm just...here! I woke up in this hellhole and you're not making it any better."  
  
"You don't know me..." the woman asked, to which Master shrugged. The woman paused for a bit, but then grabbed Master's scarf and removed it, uncoiling it around his head like a bandage. The scarf was removed and discarded, and now Master's muzzle could be clearly seen; it was almost split into two, with a massive gash spreading across his muzzle and through his own mouth, with haphazard stitching across the cut to keep the skin closed. The woman looked over it in silent satisfaction, "A Glasgow Grin. Just as you said it was. Well, you're not...him, that's for certain."  
  
"Not anymore..." Master said, "Look, I just want to know what's going on. Who was that, and who are you?"  
  
"It seems you're from before this whole thing happened...good, we're in luck," the woman sighed, poking at Master's stitched up muzzle. It felt lumpy and cold to the touch and Master quickly whisked her hand away, "Your scars...anyway, you want to know? Then I'll tell you."  
  
The woman signalled to her army and they too backed off slightly. She then signalled for Master to sit down and remove his jacket, which he reluctantly did, falling to the ground again with black shirt showing proudly. Two members of the army came forward, one with a teapot and a few cups while the other held a roll of bandages, far thicker than the strips Master held in his pocket.  
  
"I, uh..." Master started as he was handed one of the cups, "I have bandages, thanks."  
  
"Yeah, little strips." the woman said, grabbing her own cup and having the female rabbit holding the teapot pour some tea into the cup, "Trust me, you never change. Like, at all..." she sighed as Master also had tea poured into his cup, from which he took a small sip as the other member wrapped the bandages around his stomach wound, "Well, I am Carol Tea; wildcat, ex-friend of Sash Lilac and current leader of the Red Scarves. I've been helping people evade the wrath of War Lilac for the Great Dragon knows how long, no thanks for what you did to her."  
  
"What did I even do?" Master asked.  
  
"That, sadly, has been lost to time," Carol sighed, "Even I have forgotten what happened. Not that I've had the time to think about it. I've been too busy making sure I don't get hacked to pieces by the Warrior over there."  
  
"Friend of yours?" Master asked, "I'm...sorry. I was trying to find a better way..."  
  
"I understand..." Carol said, a heavy twinge of bitterness in her voice, "I did too. Multiple times, in fact. Every time I lost another member of my army. You'd think I'd learn, but...I just want my best friend back."  
  
"Well..." Master said, sipping his tea, "If there's anything I can do, I'll do it. If I did this, I might as well try to resolve it."  
  
"Yes..." Carol sighed, drinking the last of her tea, as did Master. "I can send you back in time, to just before it all went wrong, and I implore you..."  
  
"To fix it?" Blade asked, "Why do we have to do it? Why don't you stop us before we even set foot in the universe? Surely by putting us in the universe, we'll increase the chances of these events happening all over again?"  
  
"It's the only option, sadly," Carol pleaded, "Your wielder is the only one who may know exactly what went wrong and sending myself would be...disastrous. At best."  
  
"She's right," Master sighed alongside, "The mere concept of two Carols in the same place at the same time is enough for the universe to fold in on itself, never mind this Carol's actions would erase her timeline so she would've never existed in the first place. Even the most simple of choices can lead to big, worldshattering impacts. And I, sadly, am one of those choices."  
  
"Just...please..." Carol pleaded the last time, "Even if you can't totally save Lilac, save the world...just try to minimise the damage. I don't want to live in this hellhole without my best friend anymore."  
  
"...I'll try," Master nodded, putting his empty teacup down and putting his jacket and scarf back on, "Hmm, fastest cup of tea I've ever had."  
  
"Alright..." Carol said, brandishing some sort of weapon, which glowed a bright blue, "This is a portal gun. It can fire portals back and forward in time. Works on Chronos Energy, that thing you worked on in the past. Yeah, you gave me this, right at the end of this whole crapstorm. Right, here is what you'll do; go back into the past, you'll wake up in Dragon Valley. Find Lilac and the younger me and try to make sure that we all remain in one piece with intact minds. Got it?"  
  
"Yeah, but..." Master sighed, "Never mind. Wanted something to do, anyway. I get the feeling I'm going to regret pretty much everything I do for the next week or so...or is that the past week, all those years ago? Look, I'm ready. Adventure awaits!"  
  
Carol smiled slightly at that. She had a lovely smile, Master noted. She then aimed the gun and fired just to the left of Master. A blue portal popped into reality shortly after, the sound of ticking and the smell of brass filling the area, "Well, here we go..." she said, "Just find us, find...Milla...and try your best to minimise the damage. Good luck in your quest, Master of 112233CHARLIE."  
  
"Don't worry, I have a pretty good track record," Master lied, before tipping his glasses like tipping a hat to someone, "I will do you proud, Carol Tea."  
  
"You know," Carol giggled, "You called me Casual back in the day."  
  
"I did?" Master said, before reeling back, "Oh yeah, I see! Well don't worry, Casual, I'll do my best! Blade, adventure awaits!"  
  
"And bloodshed," Blade said, "I hope we see some bloodshed."  
  
Master then ran headfirst into the portal, letting out a triumphant yell of "GERONIMO!" which shortly cut off as the portal dissipated. Carol, seemingly content, sat down beside the body of War Lilac.  
  
"I'm sorry, Lilac..." Carol sighed, tears in her eyes and petting the body's ruined hair, "I'm so sorry..." she sighed, but then stopped, "...Wait, I've just realised I could've avoided this entirely by just warning him to stay away from our universe at all...oh."


	2. The East Valley

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DeviantART Link: https://masterperrymartin.deviantart.com/art/Freedom-Dies-With-Me-CHAPTER-1-549481146

The sky was bright that day. The sun was shining, in the only real way the sun would know how to, and the rays bared down into the great rocky valley below. The area was almost a desert, with sand spread far and wide across the area, and bright orange rocks making up the few steps to an unforgiving fall to the bottom of the valley below. Dusty winds swept across the valley as well, both on the surface and in the valley, kicking particles of anything that would float across the stone-heavy expanse. Here and there was the odd bulbous plant pod, leaves still growing strong in the spring air, while creatures of every shape and size roamed the area looking for their next meal, hopefully something alive. Nearby, impossibly, was some sort of forest, its trees extending way into the air and almost blocking the sunlight completely. And inbetween those two expanses, a wonderful combination of the best of both, lay an oasis; a deep and crystal clear pool of water that housed fish and frogs that swam with content across and within the water. Nearby was a waterfall, falling in from deep in the forest and cascading over the more purple-y rocks that lined the area.   
  
The calm stillness and the rushing of the water was temporarily disturbed by a hissing noise. In place of the hissing came a roaring, from which a portal appeared. From that portal emerged a brown hedgehog-like creature, who charged through the portal and landed face first on the sandy shore of the oasis. He groaned slightly and got up. Wiping some of the sand out of his face, he walked over to the water to wash the rest off. He did, the cold water and the still winds being a pleasant relief after the harsh and stormy terrain of the future, and managed to get a glimpse of himself in the water's reflection. As said before, he was a brown hedgehog, with spiky quills and a tall stature. In-fact, he was a lot taller than most of his peers back in his old universe, no doubt because of his heritage, and just looked all the more dishevelled because of it. He was one of the rare people back in his original 'verse to wear clothes; specifically a black t-shirt and matching black trousers with a dark blue jacket over that. The jacket had a single dark strap going down the zipper's mounting with another strap connecting to his stomach and around his back to another place on his stomach where the other end of the strap had been haphazardly stitched on. The strap had been secured with a medallion the size of a teacup saucer with two F's scratched across it, given to Master in the past by a freedom fighter. His trousers were ripped and hastily repaired with duct tape and bandages, not counting the one still wrapped around his arm and his stomach, the latter of which still stung quite badly and would not go away. But perhaps the most notable thing about his clothing was his large, dark red wool scarf that clung to his neck like a bad thought, covering his muzzle and a good portion of his shoulders. To complete the look was some black fingerless gloves, black sneakers with red inserts and a mostly cosmetic set of sunglasses perched on his nose, which poked out of the scarf somewhat.  
  
"Well, nice to know we're still in one piece," Blade said.  
  
"Why?" Master asked, "We just went through a portal."  
  
"Yeah, well you know portals are kinda...unreliable," Blade retorted, "Remember what happened to Lola that one time?"  
  
Master sat down, "Yeah, I still remember that. Shocking mess. It's only NOW that she's been able to stitch herself back together. Poor girl." He stopped for a bit, saying nothing and merely looking out over the waters. The fresh air, the rushing water, the quiet sounds. It all spoke to him, reminding him of happier times. Endless months of bloodshed, travelling through hellholes, being the hero the people needed, but never wanted...after so much violence and insanity on the part of him and so many others, he just wanted to stop. He looked at the waterfall, and then at Blade, "Look at that view, Blade. Makes a change, doesn't it."  
  
"Heh, yeah..." Blade said, "I remember when all I saw was battlefields with blood red skies and all I said was 'kill, kill' kill'! Heh...I'd like to think I'm better than that now."  
  
"Me too..." Master sighed, "Think we'll ever find peace?"  
  
"If we're lucky," Blade said, "If we do this right, stop this Lilac from going crazy, then we can run off with your little raccoon girlfriend and find somewhere...secluded."  
  
"But until then, we have work to do," Master said. He stood up again, looking into the distance. He looked up after that, where something caught his senses, "Hey, do you sense what I'm sensing?"  
  
"Yeah, a falling spaceship..." Blade said, making a sniffing sound, "Smells like it'll land in that forest over there. Better check it out, might find Lilac alongside it."  
  
Master said nothing else, instead starting to walk off into the rocky crevasse before him. He checked his holsters again, picking out his Desert Eagle. It will still locked empty from the events before. He replaced the magazine and flicked the slide lock, throwing the slide back into place and loading a bullet, before setting the safety and placing it back into the holster. Blade was stuffed into the second and, with a final glance at the peaceful scene before him, Master set off into the valley.  
  
=================================================  
MEANWHILE, on the other side of the Dragon Valley  
=================================================  
  
"Lilac. Lilac! Wake up!"  
  
Sash Lilac awoke with a start. She was lying on one of the many dust-encrusted rocks that littered the area, taking in the quiet air of the area. So much so, in fact, that she seemingly fell asleep. She sat up, a groan escaping her lips, and started to brush off the dust that had accumulated on her back. In the near distance, standing maybe only a few feet away from her, was Carol, Lilac's friend. She was a green wildcat, a deep green at that with even deeper green accents and eyes. Her large ears even now flickered around like restless insects and her tail whipped around in a similar fashion. As ever, she wore a black sleeveless shirt that cut off at her midsection, leaving a gap exposing her stomach that stopped at her waist, from which shorts of an even darker green hung. To complete the look was some fingerless gloves with yellow ribbons tied around the wrists, some heavy-duty shoes and a red handkerchief that was wrapped around her neck. Lilac never figured out why Carol held on to that; it was a mere reminder of her and Lilac's own past with the Red Scarves, a group of thieves that stole for the sake of it. Well, apart from Lilac and Carol. They stole Crystals just to put food on the table. Nothing more, nothing less. Well, a LOT less as of late, but Lilac was determined to make sure that little fact didn't let her down.  
  
"Morning, Carol..." Lilac said, winking cheerfully, "It IS morning, right?"  
  
"About 1 in the afternoon, Lilac," Carol sighed in her ever-deep and yet still air-light voice, "It's almost....well, almost time."  
  
Lilac smiled. Carol always looked and sounded like she was one step away from letting a 'nyan' slip past her at any time, what with her trying so hard to be butch. She found it cute. Nevertheless, it was indeed almost time. For what, however, Lilac could not remember. She got to her feet, wiping off even more accumulated dust, and asked, "Wait, what're we doing today?"  
  
"Robbing Mayor Zao's truck, remember?" Carol said, wielding a 'duh' expression on her face like a weapon, "For the final time, I promise!"  
  
"And how many more times will our next robbery be 'the final time'?" Lilac asked, leaning on a nearby rock, "I thought we agreed to cut all ties with the Red Scarves."  
  
"Well yeah, but..." Carol sighed, "We need the money, Lilac. It's not like crystals are just gonna drop from the sky and scatter all over the valley."  
  
"Yeah, if only it was that simple..." Lilac sighed, "Hey, where's your motorbike?"  
  
"Just down the path," Carol said, twirling the keys around her finger, "Never know when I might need it..." Carol sighed in an amusing way and leant against the same rock as Lilac, making sure to Lilac's shoulder with her own as a fun little gesture and looked into the sky, "Ahh, what a lovely day..."  
  
Lilac was ready to respond also, looking into the sky, but stopped. In the vertical distance, in the great light blue void and beyond, there was a shadow. A small shadow, which slowly grew in size, and eventually took a more solid shape, specifically of a spaceship. It was of a medium size, with bright red panelling and wings like an old-fashioned plane. Multiple holes lined its body and the placement of multiple fires small and large alike set off clear signs that the ship was heavily damaged and coming down. Fast. Lilac barely had time to waste before she flopped to the floor once again, grabbing Carol and dragging her down too. The ship flew past them, a mere distance above them, and continued screaming into the distance. Following it was another kind of spaceship, this one a sickly green and grey combo that was still in perfect condition, which flew after the original with quite a few dark green helicopters.  
  
"What the..." Carol started to ask, "The heck was that? That looked like Prince Dail's men!"  
  
"I don't know," Lilac huffed, getting to her feet quickly, "But it looks like someone's in trouble. Come on! We better check it out!"  
  
"But, what about the truck?" Carol asked, making the panicked stumble to her blood red motorbike.  
  
"That'll have to wait!" Lilac said, "We have to see what's up!"  
  
And with that, Lilac tapped the toe of her left boot into the ground and then began running off into the distance. But even running was not fast enough right now for Lilac; someone could be in danger and there was no time for paltry running. Luckily, Lilac knew exactly what to do here; the old Dragon Boost. She began to concentrate really hard and time seemed to slow down for a small smidgeon of time, the air around her becoming warmer with the rising energy that crackled and hissed until it became a shield of almost transparent power around her. And then, with a sudden moment with an impact that could shake the hills to dust, Lilac kicked forward and almost vanished altogether, screaming headfirst through the air like a purple comet of pure energy for a good half-mile. Rocks cracked, plants were pulled up by roots and an almost endless amount of dust was kicked into the air in the wake of this powerful outburst of speed, Lilac herself a mere after-image behind the comet. Eventually, she began to slow down and the wind that had accumulated around her was no longer deafening. Lilac relaxed slightly and stretched out, her boots catching the ground and began running once more, only now at a much faster pace.   
  
Lilac managed to keep this pace going for a large part of the journey through the canyon. Every now and again she would stop, the energies around her drained, to jump over some small gaps in the earth or to push a giant square rock onto a switch. She had already stopped to do so, and even now was grunting and straining with the effort to push the rock off of the cliffside where it lay. It eventually relented, tumbling down the face of the cliff until landing on the rocky platform below with a thunderous thud. Lilac herself hopped down and resumed her straining to push the rock onto a nearby circular button sticking out of the earth. It clicked in satisfaction and a nearby door opened up, within which sat a spider on a purple pole shooting projectiles. Lilac took a split second to process just what she was looking at, as well as why it was even there to begin with, and began to attack it. A few swift kicks were enough to destroy the being and Lilac was able to proceed. Up ahead was an entry way into the lush forests nearby and Lilac slowed down to a leisurely stroll through the beautiful forests of Avalice. One thing that Lilac had noticed a bit through this adventurous exodus was that there was a larger amount of robots in the area than normal. Every now and again there would be a mere robotic drone roaming the area, often taken out by the natural wildlife, but they never came this strong or in this many numbers. They were, at least to Lilac, EVERYWHERE. Something was quite clearly up, but what? Lilac had no idea. But she would. She knew she would. A lifetime sitting on the fringes of society taking everything not nailed down helps to build one's skill and intuition. And, in this short time since the crash landing of that ship, Lilac knew she would have to use all of those skills to figure out what mess would be about to unfold before her.  
  
Eventually, she stopped in a rocky expanse, her heels skidding on the dusty rocks and almost throwing her to the ground. The crashed ship was just above her, the smoke plume already thick and extending into the sky. The fires surrounding it were not all that visible, with a large amount of them softened or extinguished by the waterfalls lining the area. At least, as far as she could see.  
  
"Almost there, Lilac..." Lilac huffed to herself, "Just gotta scale this wall...thank the Great Dragon that doing so is easy..."  
  
She quickly turned around to see if Carol had managed to catch up with her. Nope. Carol was fast, but she often went off trail to find extra gems that travellers in the valley may have dropped in the past, or just to fight off any robots in the area. Old Carol loved a good fight. Regardless, Lilac knew she had to get to the crash site with or without her. Lilac already knew how to get up there; one of the other abilities her Dragon Boost gave her was the ability to bounce off of even the hardest of surfaces multiple times. Once again the energy surrounded Lilac and she Dragon Boosted up to the small and narrow alcove above her. However, she didn't get far before some sort of object smacked into her, sending her to the ground again. Lilac got up again, bruised but otherwise okay, and focused on what had attacked her. Her jaw dropped in response. For in front of her was a giant segmented monster, a mechanical nightmare in the deepest shades of grey and purple, with two piercing red eyes looking over her with somehow-salivating razor sharp fangs.  
  
Lilac only had time to mutter, "What the..." before the monster roared and began to strike.  
  
===================  
A small while later  
===================  
  
"Are we there yet?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Are we there yet?"  
  
"Almost!"  
  
"...Are we ther-"  
  
"BLADE!" Master shouted, visibly annoyed, "Not right now!"  
  
"Sorry..." Blade said, "Just thought I'd pass the time."  
  
"It's only been a 5 minute walk," Master shrugged, "Well, jog. Well, run...well, sprint. Look, the point is that we're here."  
  
Master looked out over the expanse once more. It was around here that the desert and forest merged somewhat, leaving a dusty and rocky area that still had bushes and fresh water springs dotting the area. Below him was some rocky pit with the sound of rushing water catching his ears, while above him was the spaceship that he sensed would crash at that location. It was red, with an odd style to it, and it was now almost completely on fire with a thick smoke plume rising steadily above it.  
  
"Nice ride," Blade smarmed, sounding impressed, "Shame it's...you know...trashed. Poor thing's more ruined than a 90's mascot."  
  
"I just hope anyone on board the thing survived," Master said, leaning against a tree, "Might be able to lead us to this Lilac, then."  
  
"Well, what did Carol Tea say?" Blade asked in a slightly annoyed tone, "Oh yeah..." he put on a mocking impersonation of the older Carol's voice, "Ooh, just go into the Dragon Valley and find us. Don't bother with trying to figure out WHERE in the valley we'll be, we'll just pop up!" and then returned to his normal annoyed voice, "Fat lot of help that Chao droppings was!"  
  
"...Wait, Chao don't-"  
  
"Look, the point is we're kinda in the dark here!" Blade retorted, "We only went and found this ship because Chaos knows we have no other leads. What, will some sign just come bursting out of the ground to show us we're in the right place?"  
  
Suddenly, the ground began crunching and vibrating, as if something was crashing thorough the rocky floor below. And as if by some sort of natural disaster, a large hole in the rock exploded into existence, spreading chunks of itself everywhere. Following the rock was some odd mechanical segments, each flying out of the hole and landing in a small pile near Master and Blade. Its head came last, housing a goofy expression that seemed to indicate that it did NOT see whatever beat it coming.  
  
"...Well..." Master said, visibly unaffected by this turn of events, "That a good enough sign?"  
  
"Yeah..." Blade said, audibly surprised, "Good enough."  
  
However, both noticed that one last item had burst from the hole in the rock, but it was not another piece of the robot. But rather, a creature. More specifically, a dragon. She was purple, much lighter in shade than the last one Master noticed, and had a much cleaner appearance. In fact, she was clearly the Lilac that Carol had tasked Master with finding, right down to how she looked. Compared to War Lilac, Lilac herself was nowhere near as demented, looking quite sane and collected, with an intact set of light blue shirt and shorts complete with boots and actual gloves as opposed to mere scraps hanging around her wrist. Her teeth were normal and her eyes were not red dots swimming around a black expanse, but instead a large and purple pupil in a standard set of white eyes. But perhaps most noticeable was her tendrils extending out of the back of her head, hiding within her mostly nicely combed hair; there were two of them and neither looked synthetic or dirty, instead waving around slightly in the breeze. This was it, Master knew. THIS was Lilac. The dragon stretched slightly, groaning with satisfaction as she did so, and then began to run off to where the ship had crashed, slowly becoming a mere dot in the process.  
  
"Well, that was her, alright," Blade said, "...Well, what're you doing standing around gawking? You're already engaged, slugger! After her!"  
  
"Oh! Right!" Master yelped, before picking up his pace and screaming after Lilac. He clambered up the rocky wall, stabbing Blade into the wall multiple times to ascend, before stopping by the ship. Nearby was two people, some of the strangest looking adversaries Master had ever seen. One was some strange sort of snake creature, this one much smaller and more organic that the last one, clad in a helmet and body armour and holding some sort of laser pistol to the other. He was sprawled out across the floor and could only be understood as some sort of...duck tortoise creature, with a duck's bill and a body-encompassing shell. He also wore strange padded gloves and boots, and wore goggles that at the moment rested across his forehead. Master was, understandably, quite confused, "Uh...Blade? Have I gone crazy again?"  
  
"Nope, I'm seeing it too," Blade said, "Armoured snake about to shoot a...shellduck. And I thought those wisp hybrids were bad..."  
  
Master got closer to the two, tiptoeing ever so slightly until he climbed a tree to get a better look. The snake was still pointing his gun at the Shell-duck, who was seemingly wounded but not about to let himself get captured.  
  
"How many Chasers are left?" the snake asked in a threatening and predictably hissing voice, "Tell me!"  
  
The Shell-duck's response was one that was light and odd, almost in a mocking tone if not for the fact he spoke in it almost all the time, "You didn't say please!"  
  
"Don't play games with me, duckling!" the snake shouted, looking angrier by the second, "Tell me!"  
  
"...Fine, be that way."  
  
The Shell-duck's response to this was to retreat into his shell, leaving only a round brown ball with goggles poking out of the top of it. The snake became visibly irritated, letting out a "Gaah! Where's that blasted snake mount?!"  
  
"Snake Mount..." Master said, confused. It didn't take long for a lightbulb to pop over his head, "Oh yeah, that robot."  
  
"Nothing now but a mass of glorified balls," Blade sniggered, "Heh heh. Balls..."  
  
This was made apparent to the snake too, as the head of this demolished mount suddenly came bounding over the edge of the wall Master had climbed earlier and then landed close to the armoured snake. His reaction did not change, instead just turning back to his target, "Fine! I'll guess we'll have to do this the hard way!" The snake then opened fire with his pistol and a large bright blue bolt of energy came roaring out of the barrel, colliding with the Shell-duck's shell with great force. He bounced back, seemingly not damaged, but the snake had already given chase. He grabbed the shell and threw it into the trees and then, after grabbing another blaster from his belt, laid waste to the leaves above him, sending purple shots through the sky. The Shell-duck collapsed nearby, uncurled out of his shell and seemingly weakened by the assault. The snake only guffawed in a way Master knew all to well, "I could do this all day!"  
  
"We better get going!" Master whispered, "Or he's gonna get creamed!"  
  
"Wait!" Blade whispered, "Something else is coming! It's that dragon girl!"  
  
Blade was right. Cascading through the trees even now was Lilac, the purple dragon from before. She landed with a sense of grace that threw the snake back somewhat. He himself looked quite shocked, barely blurting out, "What is THIS hideous creature?"  
  
Lilac was quick to her feet, standing behind the Shell-duck with arms outstretched. Even her voice was similar to War Lilac, albeit one that was nowhere near as deranged or rage-filled, "Stay back!"  
  
"Ooohh, no!" The snake said, "The duck man comes with me!"  
  
Lilac only became more defiant at this remark, "I'm not gonna let you eat him!"  
  
"...What?"  
  
It didn't take long for some strange item to strike from the darkness and just miss the snake creature, who narrowly dodged it with a shriek. It was a segment of a blade of some sort, attached to another segment with some metallic rope, which in turn was attached to another and another still. The blade retracted and some monster jumped out of the shadows of a nearby tree. He was brown, around the snake's own height, and wore a dark red scarf that wrapped around his face and chest. He wielded the weapon from before in his left hand, a majestic weapon with a curved blade that had cracks which seemed to emit a green light.  
  
"Creature of the deepest pits of damnation!" the creature barked in some odd British accent, "Step away from the Dragon and the...Shell...Duck..."  
  
"And who are you supposed to be?" the snake hissed, stifling an evil laugh, "Some sort of winter mummy?"  
  
"Well that's just mean," came another voice, this one deeper and decidedly more demonic, "I suggest you keep your trap shut, snakeboy! We've already cleaved our way through targets like Lyric, we'll have no problem fighting his cousin twice-removed!"  
  
"Hahaha..." the snake laughed, "Got quite the mouth on ya, haven't you? Two of 'em, in fact! But can you back it up? Get ready to draw!"  
  
"Okay, bub..." the voice said again, as the creature switched his weapon to his off hand and dug out another one, "Want some graphite-related puns, too? Well then, here comes the 2B!"  
  
The creature reared back and thrust his blade forward. The blade itself split into multiple roped segments as with before and travelled across the space between the creature and the snake, catching the snake's left hand and forcing him to drop his laser pistol.  
  
"And here comes the eraser!" the creature called out, raising his other weapon. There was a loud crack in the sky and the weapon, the chrome and parkerised creation that it was, recoiled back like a large jump. Some small and invisible object then hit the snake in his other hand, dropping his other pistol too. The snake groaned in pain, holding both of his wounded and almost useless hands and looked at the creature with a sneer.  
  
"Arrgh! You shouldn't have done that!" the snake yelled, turning to make an exit, "You haven't seen the last of Serpentine!" The snake turned and fled, leading only the two weapons behind; both of which had been damaged by the creature's weapons and thus were rendered useless. He turned back to Lilac and the Shell-duck, both of which had been watching the spectacle with confused eyes.  
  
"What, uh..." Lilac began, "What just happened?"  
  
"I think I've just saved your life," the creature said, scratching his ear, "Not too sure."  
  
"Whatever just happened, it was a close one..." the Shell-duck sighed, "Thank you both for helping me. Especially you. Miss...uh..."  
  
"Lilac," Lilac said, "Sash Lilac."  
  
"Miss Lilac!" the Shell-duck said gleefully, before turning to the creature and asking, "And, uh, you are?"  
  
"They call me Master." the creature said, shrugging slightly, "I don't know why, they just do."  
  
"Nice voice manipulation back there, by the way," the Shell-duck said, "Voice Modulation Device hidden in your scarf, I presume?"  
  
"Nope," came the other voice again, "The voice is a bit more...handsome. And deadly. But mostly handsome."  
  
"Who?" Lilac asked.  
  
"Down here."  
  
All three people in the area looked at the blade in Master's hand, to which Lilac mumbled, "That...that thing's talking?"  
  
"Yeah..." Master said, digging his other weapon into one of his holsters leaving only the blade in his hand, "This is the Blade of Hysteria, though I just call him 'Blade'."  
  
"Oh..." Lilac said, clearly trying to take this in, "Well, hello...Blade."  
  
There was a sudden roaring noise and all three turned their heads to see what it was. It was a red motorbike, with some sort of animal riding on it. She was green, with green ears, green markings and a large tail that swished behind her as she walked. Master could clearly see this was Carol, at the least the younger one, that the elder one had tasked him to find. Compared to the Carol from the future timeline, she was obviously younger and less battle scarred, having both eyes and both hands. She wore much simpler clothing than her elder form, with only a black shirt with no sleeves, some dark green shorts, gloves, boots and a red rag tied around her neck to her own. Carol stopped the bike and quickly jumped off of it, running towards the trio with open eyes from shock, "Are you okay? I saw a huge explosion back there!"  
  
"Have you been following us this whole time?" Lilac asked.  
  
"Duh," Carol said, with a sort of sneery expression.  
  
"I take it you know this guy?" the Shell-duck asked.  
  
"Girl..." Carol growled in response.  
  
"This...girl?"  
  
Lilac broke away from the group to stand in front of Carol and pose, "Are you kidding? She's like my tail! Always right by my side."  
  
Carol herself then walked forward to introduce herself, and conforming Master's suspicions in the process, "Carol the Wildcat, at your service!" she quickly pointed her thumb towards Lilac, "AaaandthisisLilac."  
  
The Shell-duck reached out to shake her hand, "Well I'm Torque. I'm a, uh, shell-duck."  
  
"Shell-duck?"  
  
"It's more of a nickname," Torque said, looking a bit nervous, "I'm not exactly from around here."  
  
"You don't say," Master snarked.  
  
"Well, you don't look like you're from around here either, bub!" Carol pointed accusingly at Master, "Who are you, anyway?"  
  
"He's called...Master, I think," Lilac tried to explain.  
  
Carol's expression became quite miffed.  
  
"...Not a word of a lie, I promise," Master said, "Look, it's a long story. Perhaps we should reach safer ground."  
  
"Well, there's my treehouse," Lilac said, "No-one knows where it is other than me. We'll be safe there. You coming, Master?"  
  
"Does he have to?" Carol asked, inspecting Master all over, "I don't trust him. I don't trust ANYONE with a getup THAT ridiculous..."  
  
"I kinda have to, because...uh..." Master quickly looked down at the scarf that covered his face, thankful it hid his nervous frown, "Oh bother, I didn't think this far...ooh!" and then turned back to Carol, "I'm the newest member of your...Red Scarves. Came here for...training, that's it."  
  
"Training?" Torque asked, "With moves like that?"  
  
"Also, what's with the dead sheep wrapped around your head?" Carol asked, her voice clearly irritated, "You're taking the whole 'Red Scarves' thing a bit too seriously, aren't you?"  
  
"Well, I didn't get the memo..." Master said, laughing nervously.  
  
"Ahh, jeez, give it up, Master!" Blade called out, "It's not working. Look, here's the score; I'm a talking blade of war, we're both from the future and we're here to make sure both you remain sane in about three days. Got it?"  
  
"...Did..." Carol began after a pause, "...Did his glowing dagger talk?"  
  
"Yeah..." Lilac said.  
  
Master frowned under his scarf. He was supposed to make sure both stayed sane and already, by doing almost nothing, he had forced the two to accept that his cursed demonic dagger was talking to them. Probably took a hit to their sanity already.  
  
"Good start, Master," he sighed to himself as the group started off towards the treehouse, "Good start."


	3. Temple Ambush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DeviantART Link: https://masterperrymartin.deviantart.com/art/Freedom-Dies-With-Me-CHAPTER-2-551180301

===============  
5 Minutes Later  
===============  
  
"Lilac's Treehouse. Main Base of Operation of Sash Lilac and Carol Tea, formerly of the Red Scarves..." Blade said, "Damn, what a place."  
  
Master couldn't help but agree with him. It had only taken them about 5 minutes to get here, with Blade all the while trying to keep the mood lightened by telling stories and tall tales. It hadn't worked, to the point that Carol threatened to throw the obnoxious weapon into the canyon, though Master managed to talk her out of it ("Trust me," he had said, "It wouldn't end well...). Master managed to keep him quiet after that, promising to himself it would be the last time he would let Blade tell anyone about that time with the punch bowl and the rubber chicken.  
  
It was soon after such a conversation that they had arrived at Lilac's treehouse. It wasn't far from the Valley, maybe a mere mile from where they had found Torque, and it was a wide open space with low shrubbery, so the Valley itself could be seen quite clearly in the distance. A very large tree was nearby. Attached to it with a combination of rope, nails and bolts was a large wooden house, Master guessing at least a three-room sort of establishment, with a blue tiled roof and multiple eastern lanterns lining the ladder. It was almost luxury for such a place, and Master couldn't help but be impressed by it.  
  
"You built this yourself?" Master asked, astonished.  
  
"Well, Carol did...MOST of the work," Lilac said, a single bead of sweat travelling down the side of her head, "I'm not really all THAT strong."  
  
"Oh, don't be like that!" Blade called out, "You handled that purple snake bot with a large amount of finesse!"  
  
"That thing?" Lilac asked, "How'd you even know about that?"  
  
Master pulled on the middle layer of his scarf, like another man would pull at the collar of his shirt, "We...kinda followed you. We saw you jump out of the hole. Alongside what was left of that robot."  
  
"Well, guess that explains the sense of uneasiness," Lilac huffed, "It wasn't really that hard a fight. I just punched off his body parts and he exploded. For some reason."  
  
"Well, nice to know THAT hasn't changed from our universe," Blade said, "But still, who do you think sent that bot after you? And why you?"  
  
"It was the possession of that snake guy you fought off," Torque said, "Guess he put him up as guard duty."  
  
Lilac walked over to Torque, "That reminds me, what are you even doing out here? The skies haven't been safe for days."  
  
"Clearly," Master said, looking up at the skies. Even now were more of those dark green helicopters flying off into the distance.  
  
Torque looked a bit forlorn, "Someone is about to steal the Kingdom Stone, and I have to stop them."  
  
Master seemed to be surprised at this remark, but Lilac seemed to pass it off as a joke, "The Kingdom Stone? That's impossible!"  
  
"Yeah, only I could steal it!" Carol said, flexing her left arm.  
  
"Pfff, you wish!" Lilac said playfully, giving Carol a slight nudge for her troubles.  
  
"I probably could..." Master shrugged, "Get to the shrine in disguise, steal the gem and...do...something with it."  
  
"It's already happening," Torque said, "Mayor Zao is sending troops in disguise to the Ancient Temple! I have to warn them!"  
  
"Well, me and Carol are pretty fast," Lilac boasted, "We could check for you."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yep!" Carol boasted too, "I've got a motorcycle! And she's a dragon! They're like, super fast!"  
  
"What about your friend there?" Torque asked, leaning a bit to look at Master.  
  
"Me? Yeah, I guess I'm pretty fast," Master said, "Though I normally use portals to get around. But, uh, that's kinda out of the picture at the moment."  
  
"Why?" Carol asked, "We could get to the Temple in seconds, then!"  
  
"Well..." Master sighed, quickly showing the three his stomach bandage, now slowly bloodied, "A slightly open stomach puncture kinda knocks the wind out of you."  
  
"A stomach puncture? Why didn't you tell us before?" Lilac asked, "We can heal it!"  
  
"Don't worry 'bout it," Blade said, "I can heal it. Given time."  
  
"Natural healing factor, huh?" Torque asked, "Impressive."  
  
"Does it warp reality, too?" Carol asked, her tone quite sarcastic.  
  
"Ladies, please, we don't have time for this," Master said quickly.  
  
"He's right," Torque said, bowing his head, "Even without his portals, it's worth a shot. Hurry over to the temple, before it's too late!"  
  
"What about you?" Carol asked, "Shouldn't you come too?"  
  
"I'll catch up with you," Torque explained, "As soon as I find all my stuff. It was scattered everywhere during the crash, so I may be a while."  
  
"Right, come on Carol!" Lilac said, turning tail and running off further into the forest. Carol began running too, soon followed by Master. Torque sighed, readjusted his beak and headed back off into the Valley.  
  
==============  
Sometime Later  
==============  
  
"Thank the Great Dragon the Temple isn't that far away!" Carol said, huffing and panting, as the three ran headlong across the beaten path, the sound of their shoes pounding the dirt track contrasting the otherwise serene feel of the forest. Even now the Valley was nowhere to be seen, and the Temple itself was slowly closing up in the distance, the ancient rocky box it was.  
  
"You know, now we have time to talk more about that Blade of yours," Lilac said, "Just to get some facts straight."  
  
"You sure you wanna do this now?" Blade asked, "Can't it wait for another time? Like, the next chapter?"  
  
"Might as well," Lilac said, "It's just that you fascinate me. A bladed weapon that talks, extends, can open portals and so on. Never seen anything like it before in my life."  
  
"Yeah, is it possessed by a demon or something?" Carol asked.  
  
"How dare you!" Blade yelled, the green glow of the blade once again turning red, "I am not a demon!"  
  
"Yeah, forgot to mention that," Master said, "He doesn't like being called a demon. He's actually a God."  
  
"The Hellblood God of War, thank you very much!" Blade grumbled.  
  
"So, what're you doing in a bladed weapon, then?" Lilac asked.  
  
"It all began in time uncharted," Blade began, "Back in our native universe. I was a god to the Hellbloods, a tribal set of vampires that were in the middle of a feud with fellow tribe the Echidnas. The Hellbloods were friendly enough people, not above the odd sacrifice but otherwise decent folk. The Echnidnas, on the other hand...ooh, they were nasty. The Echidnas believed in this one great god, named Chaos. Probably heard us call him out by name. Just kinda what happens when you have to listen to preachers in a world where only one religion is allowed to be taught every day. Despite the fact that, you know, Chaos almost wiped most of the United Federation clean off the map."  
  
"And in our universe, did," Master sighed.  
  
Anyway..." Blade continued, "The Hellbloods were starting to get rather wary of the Echnidas. The Hellbloods were just trying to exist, to be able to see the sun another day. But the Echidnas wanted more then mere...spirituality. Well, their leader did, anyway. Think he was named after a raincoat or something, think it was Pachacamac. It certainly didn't help that he was being run ragged by a sort of offshoot of his tribe known as the Nocturnal. They vanished into another dimension and old Paccy turned his full attention on MY followers. So they decided the best thing to do was gather four blades from across the world and feed them with the souls of the gods. The Blade of Order, The Blade of Control, The Blade of Hope and the Blade of Hysteria...that's me. No idea how they did it, but next thing you know I'm stuck in an ancient blade, being swung by some random Hellblood and getting lodged in an Echidna's neck. Almost every week after that, I was being used to fend off Echidnean raids, one after the other. It was actually kinda fun, for a while."  
  
"So how'd you get into Master's possession?" Carol asked.  
  
"Pafekuto Kaosu..." Blade muttered in a low, haunted breath, "Pachacamac and his followers were at their wits end when they couldn't fight back against me or my contemporaries. They only wanted more power, and they had it; legendary gems called the Chaos Emeralds, said to contain unlimited amounts of powers, each graded by the strength of it's energy. And then there was the granddaddy of them all, the Master Emerald. The Master Emerald, you see, is guarded by a certain chosen one, assigned to look over the it and these cute little blobby things called Chao. Bit of shame the guardian at the time was Pachacamac's own daughter, Tikal. Old Paccy, in his greed, struck his daughter down and shattered the Master Emerald. He released Chaos, his watery blood boiling at the sight of so many dead Chao things. In his rage, he absorbed the power of the Chaos Emeralds, transforming into a massive beast. Hellblood and Echnidna alike were wiped out by this...terrifying monstrosity. I was laid to rest in their sacred temple, where Master found me several millennia later."  
  
"So..." Lilac said, "Everyone died because of a power struggle."  
  
"Not EVERYONE," Master clarified, "Just the Hellbloods. They were revived later through manipulation of dead genes. As for the Echidnas, a handful survived and bred on. By the present day, there was only one left...and then I did him in...and they were lost to time."  
  
"Geez, that's pretty dark," Lilac huffed, "The closest we have to a god is the Great Dragon, protector of the Kingdom Stone."  
  
"Guy better be ready to work overtime, then," Blade snarked, "...Hey, who're those pandas over there?"  
  
"Pandas?" Carol looked forwards and her ears dropped, "Oh no..."  
  
The group finally stopped to catch their breath. Just before them was the temple, now in full sight, and what a sight it was. The temple, screaming high into the sky, was made of old and crusty stone that even now flaked off into chips and spilled on the grass. The sky, now a bright orange sunset, only seeked to enrich the atmosphere. Blade shivered slightly, the thought of a temple like this being oh so similar to the temple he had been left to rot in for time unaccountable. The mere thought of his time there, unable to move and barely able to talk, for thousands of years without company...  
  
"Do we really have to go in there?" Blade asked.  
  
"Oh, is the demon scared of a little ancient rock?" Carol teased.  
  
"What, ever been on your own for several millennia without anyone? No friends, no TV, no ability to move, or talk, or even sleep?" Blade said, "Have you any idea what that's like?!"  
  
"Alright, I'm sorry, geez..." Carol sighed.  
  
Lilac was already ignoring the two and running towards the entrance to the temple. Outside the entrance, just milling around on the grass outside, were two pandas. One was a large male panda, perhaps in his mid 30's, with a heavy build and faux-gold/brass armour. His gloves were metallic and he had a ponytail jutting out of the top of his head, alongside a large (and probably ceremonial) shield strapped to his back. The seemed to be a smaller female, but otherwise was in the shadows and hard to identify. The large male panda was leaning next to a pillar, his back to the heroes.  
  
Lilac had already stopped, "General Gong!"  
  
This General Gong fellow was sort of startled, before turning around. Just Lilac and Carol. Oh, and friend. He walked up towards the three, taking impressive and boisterous strides, "You two clowns again?"  
  
"AND friend," Master called out, "And friend."  
  
"Nice to see you too," Carol grumbled. Master could tell from her tone of voice that she, and probably Lilac too, had met General Gong before on pretty bad terms.  
  
"We have to talk to you," Lilac said, looking up at the portly General, "The Kingdom Stone is in danger!"  
  
"Haha, don't be ridiculous!" General Gong said, in the same sort of boisterous way that enriched his own movement, "Nothing gets past MY nose."  
  
"Apart from a large order of deep-fried squid rings," Blade snarked, "WITH fries on the side. And probably a diet coke. Helps that, uh...physical state."  
  
"Uh, wha?" General Gong looked around, "Who was that?"  
  
"No-one, sir!" Master cried out, giving Blade a quick bash to shut him up.  
  
"Oh yeah," Lilac said, "Forgot to introduce our friend here."  
  
"Master T. MasterSelf, esquire," Master said with faux-pride, causing a groaning Carol to facepalm in the distance, "And it would probably be within your...great interests to listen to us, even for a minute. Trust me, a minute can mean a lot."  
  
It didn't take long for the second panda to jump out of the shadows. She was indeed small and female, not to mention quite pale in both skin and fur tone, with a great wad of slick black hair that stopped around her shoulders. She was clad in purple battle armour, with belts and protectors everywhere, alongside a pair of black boots that had steel-caped soles. In her hands was some sort of spear, its spearhead a bright blue and giving off freezing mist coming from a small gem inserted in the staff itself. Her voice was quick, deep and held a certain air of authority; "What is the meaning of this?"  
  
"Miss Neera!" Lilac said, looking surprised. Even Carol looked a little shocked about her appearance and promptly bowed. Lilac did so too, "We mean no disrespect. We're just trying to-"  
  
"You heard what the General said," Neera said, her voice never raising an octave, "There is nothing to worry about."  
  
"But-"  
  
"DON'T..." Neera growled, her voice leaving an impact not unlike a sledgehammer to the chest, "Make me repeat myself."  
  
"And, uh..." Master called out, jumping onto the stones until he was close to Neera, "Who in all likelihood are YOU, huh?" No response, "Well come on, I wanna know. Who are you of all people to order people like us about?"  
  
"If you must know..." Neera sighed, keeping her spear pointed at Master, "I am Neera-Li. Royal Priestess of Shuigang. At least until Prince Dail got a little too...obsessed with finding his parents' killers and I went off to join the so-called good side in this war."  
  
"There's no good side in war, sister," Master growled, "Believe me."  
  
"And who are YOU, in return, to say such claptrap?" General Gong asked too, readying his weapon.  
  
"I am Master," Master growled, a sort of whitish light slowly covering his limbs, "I am a multiverse vigilante who has had to kill for the greater good. I've seen stuff that would make your eyes boil into little milky white puddles - hell, I've SEEN eyes boil into little milky white puddles - and I will not let some spoiled panda with a +5 Staff of Frozen Horseshit stop me from protecting this world from something that'll turn it into the Mojave Wasteland in four years!"  
  
"MASTER!" Lilac cried out, grabbing him by one of the ends of his scarf and throwing him to the ground, "Sorry, miss Neera. He's a bit new around here. Not the biggest on authority."  
  
"Clearly," Neera-Li said, "Now get going before I lock this ridiculous looking parasite away."  
  
Lilac sighed and dragged a dazed Master away, with Carol walking off soon after. She looked back at the two pandas walking off into the temple and began to seethe with rage. This Master guy! He had only been with her and Lilac for a good hour and even now was getting on her wick. She wanted nothing more than to dump such useless load into the nearest ditch and move on without him. Nothing personal, well mostly, but he was just slowing them down too much. Eventually they managed to get to a clearing and laid Master down, Blade nearby.  
  
"He looks out of it..." Lilac said, inspecting the body, "Did I pull on his scarf too hard or something?"  
  
"No, he's just a little concussed, that's all," Blade said, "Hit his head pretty badly from the fall. Nothing major, nothing a little magic won't heal...wait, what?"  
  
"What's wrong?" Lilac asked.  
  
"My healing powers aren't working. In fact, none of them are. Maybe it's that Kingdom Stone, cancelling out my otherworldly powers. Great. His stomach wound is still open, too. Don't really want him to keep going like this and reopen the thing. He's powerful, at least with me around, but he sure ain't immortal."  
  
"That's fine," Lilac said, digging something out of her pocket, "Nothing a little Red Leaves won't fix. Still need to wake him up, though."  
  
"Allow me..." Carol growled. She breathed in sharply, and swiped her hand clear across Master's face with an almighty smacking sound. The force was enough to send Master keeling over, but at least he was awake, "Ooh, this guy! Why're we still carting him around? He's only slowing us down." She sighed, "Look, those two sound like they know what they're doin'. Why don't we just charge up, get rid of the excess weight and go home. Whaddya say?"  
  
"I don't know..." Lilac said, tiling her head in a puzzled manner, "I feel like they're hiding something from us. And, as much damage as he's caused, we might need Master. He seems to know a lot, maybe he knows what's going on."  
  
"But with Neera!" Carol said, "He could've got us killed!"  
  
"I'll admit," Blade said, "I did sense a spark of rage in him when he saw Neera. Don't know why, and I doubt he does either. Don't be too hard on the kid. After Chaos knows how long with carting the God of War around, of course he's going to be a little...jumpy. Got a lot of carnage under his belt."  
  
"That panda..." Master said, coming to, "I don't know why, but there's something I don't like about her. Call it a hunch."  
  
"It's okay, Mr Master Guy," Lilac said, "Neera is okay. It's just that...well, she plays things a bit by the book."  
  
"Yeah, enough for her to eat the sodding thing, I reckon," Master sighed, getting up, "Wait...do you sense that?"  
  
"A rumbling..." Lilac whispered, the ground softly vibrating beneath her feet, "It sounds like-"  
  
A massive horn thundered its way through the air and a massive red streak whooshed past the trio. Lilac had just enough time to make out its shape; it was a truck, a huge one that was being manned by two guards, clad in ancient armour that was the same shade as the truck. To Master, those guards looked...familiar. Like they were the soldiers that War Lilac was ordering around, only a different colour. The truck, the wheeler stuffed with springs and robots, crashed headlong into the temple opening, spreading stones and shards everywhere. General Gong and Neera-Li were both swept away by the massive forces of this truck, and it was soon sailing off into the distance.  
  
"What the?!" Blade called out, "That was one hell of an ambush!"  
  
"Follow me!" Lilac said, stuffing some red leaves into Master's hands, "Look, I don't have the time to administer these properly, but just secure them against your stomach. The wound should heal quicker. Come on!"  
  
Master had no time to argue before Lilac took off, Carol also rushing ahead after her. Master mumbled to Blade, "Okay, I know we won't have time for pause, but try to analyse these leaves. Need to know what's so good about 'em!" With that, he slipped the leaves between his stomach bandages to press them against his skin and rushed off too.  
  
Master had to admit; this place was huge. Impressively huge. A bunch of winding paths spread far into the area, lined with rock and trees and crystals of every type. Master simply thought that these crystals were like rings back in his world, except even more common. He pondered on their supposed use as currency for a few seconds, winced at the thought and rushed on ahead. Nearby was a set of odd winches, each attached to some sort of rail built into the temple and made heavier with weights. Master quickly jumped onto the first and the winch set off, gaining tremendous speed and flinging him high into the air afterwards. He crashed back down onto soft ground and continued onwards. He didn't stop for anything, keeping a fast pace throughout his trek, taking out most of the enemies in his way with Blade. Every now and again he swiftly slipped his Deagle out and fired off a few shots towards some robot that could only be described as an orb on a spring. Then, with the gun locked back, he quickly swapped magazines and hit the slide catch, putting the gun back into its holster and moving on.  
  
Eventually, he skidded to a stop outside of the main room. He could sense the great power of the Kingdom Stone even now. Or at least it seemed to be it. The feel of this energy was unlike any he had experienced before. He brushed his doubts aside for the moment and walked in. Nothing. Not even a rare crystal. Even now, the power signal Master had felt was now steadily decreasing in strength. The main room itself was in a disastrous state, with large chunks of the walls and floor gone and what could only be described as a massive, deep crevasse that lead down to some barely visible rails. In the distance were a few trucks, rushing off into the distance with cargo hastily secured with leather straps. Behind the truck, inching ever closer to the back of it, was Carol on her ruby-red motorbike with Lilac hanging onto the back of it. The two soon hit a ramp and were flung through the air, crashing into the back of the truck and soon went to town on the robots defending the cargo. All things considered, they looked like they were having the time of their lives.  
  
"Well, shibbles..." Master sighed, "We've lost them. Was that even the Kingdom Stone we sensed?"  
  
"Nope," Blade mused, "The energy signals were pretty similar, but it wasn't giving anywhere near enough power compared to that light blue gunk. Best guess, it was probably a dud, like those fake Chaos Emeralds. Still, at least Carol was right; Dragons ARE super-fast. Going through all those robots, disabling walls, battling closed spaces, and now fighting for their treasure. All in about 5 minutes. These girls could give Sonic a run for his money."  
  
"Oh, which one?" Master snarked, "The impulsive one who got hospitalised due to his mental breakdown, the bandaged one who can only jog at a snail's pace or our version? Who had his leg tendons perforated?"  
  
"...Yeah, probably should've thought that analogy through a bit more," Blade sighed, "My bad. Point is we'll never catch up to them now. Not without a shortcut."  
  
"Cue rails..." Master mused. He was now staring down the hole that was just in front of him. There were indeed metallic rails leading off further down the shaft and into some underground section. Even now came the sounds of some cart squeaking its way across the rails and into some underground system, "It appears there's more to this temple than just this. If that gem was a dud, than I bet the ACTUAL Kingdom Stone will be underground, hidden from any nosey thieves. So I bet that's where those two'll be going too. Just have to follow the rail system to where the underground caves begin."  
  
"Which would be actually possible if the cart was still there," Blade said, "It kind of isn't."  
  
"Well, we're Mobians...I think," Master said, grinning under his scarf, "We'll just go the old fashioned way."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
Blade barely had time to ask before Master leapt head first into the hole. Blade's own surprised yelp was drowned out by the rushing wind and a slight metallic whoosh as they passed the rail. Then, at the last second, Master threw Blade out and the weapon extended once more, wrapping the segments around the rail. Soon, they reached the end of the sharp rope and began to swing forward. This movement caused the wrapped part to jump forward, dragging Master along the rail as they travelled along the system. Every now and again the rails would stop due to breakages, from which Master would detach and grab where the rail went on using Blade, sliding once more through the caverns. Every now and again, robots were on the rails, seemingly guarding this way in, to which Master responded by digging a large wrench out of his jacket and smacking the robots in question, holding the backup weapon in his free right hand. The robots, oil and shard of shrapnel raining off of them, were sent careening into the watery ravine below, met with either a slash or an explosion. Eventually, the rocks began to turn a dusky blue and Master disembarked from the rail for the final time, rolling through the air and into the opening, stopped only by the stopping post for the cart that was already there.  
  
"Damn, son!" Blade called out after stopping, "When you said Mobian, I didn't know you meant Columbian! Why not just grind on them?"  
  
"Haven't got the hang of grinding..." Master laughed, a grin spread across his stitched lips, "And hell, that was way more fun!"  
  
He soon got up, straightened out his back and walked off into the caverns below. The place was astoundingly pretty for a set of hastily-excavated caves; a delicate and deep mix of blues and violets stained the colour of the rocks surrounding the two, even now with untapped reservoirs of small and sparkly gems embedded in the rockface. Master assumed these small gems were mostly worthless to the general public if they really did use those large light-blue crystals...but he pried a few off the walls, just in case. Worst case scenario, at least he could make a nice necklace out of them for his girlfriend. Well, should he live long enough. Even now the stomach wound was aching slightly, the pain still overpowering even the magic leaves, and it was enough to hamper his effectiveness slightly; every now and again while fighting the underground creatures that doubtless protected the Kingdom Stone, the wound would be agitated and cause Master to pause in mild distress, allowing the creature in question to get a hit, often slashing directly across his face. Luckily, his thick scarf was enough to absorb most of the attack and Master would retaliate in short order. He would bring Blade high above his head and bring it down, bisecting the creature with a mechanical scream and a few clanks as the pieces fell to the floor.   
  
Master growled with the stress, narrowly dodging one of the numerous giant swinging pickaxes and grabbing onto a nearby switch. There was a heavy click and the circular door opened up in front of him, which he hastily ran through. A few hallways later and he was soon in what could only be described as a regal sports dome made out of rock. There was a single bridge made out of polished blue marble which snaked its way across the entire room, above it majestic purple pillars and below it a shadowy abyss. In the centre of this room, hovering over a pedestal within a beam of light, was a light blue orb with an odd sparkling set of waves crossing its surface. A slight light-blue aura was shining around the orb itself and the power it was giving off...oh, the power. It was at levels Master was nearly unable to comprehend. This was it, he knew it; it was the Kingdom Stone. An artefact even more powerful than the Master Emerald, strong enough to reduce an entire world to ash and blood and dust...and here it was.  
  
Master rushed forward, spotting two familiar faces in the caverns, "Lilac! Carol! Wait for me!"  
  
Lilac turned around, "Master! You made it! Sorry we kinda...ran off without you, but if what Torque said is true..."  
  
"It probably isn't," Carol grumbled, "Maybe he was just joshing us."  
  
"No, his levels of guilt and adrenaline were stable," Blade said, "He wasn't lying. So this is the main chamber, eh? Pretty impressive? Did your people dig it out, or..."  
  
"I dunno..." Lilac said, "Local history books say we just came across it, pre-dug and in this state. We all saw the power it contained, the event of '06...wiped one of our major cities clean off the map."  
  
"Why does every horrible event seem to happen in 2006?" Blade asked, to which Master replied with a shrug.  
  
"So the world leaders agreed to keep it hidden and protected, using ruses and traps in this very cave. Hence the, uh...giant pickaxes. And it stayed hidden, too."  
  
"Until Spade got word of it," Carol sighed, "He's the leader of the Red Scarves, this thief group you were trying so hard to be a part of..." her expression suddenly flipped into one with a cheeky tone, "And Lilac has a crush on him..."  
  
"I do not!" Lilac cried out, "I just...admire him, that's all..."  
  
"Spade..." Master mused, tilting slightly, "Does he happen to be the somewhat handsome fellow who's stealing the Kingdom Stone right now?"  
  
Lilac, in a panic, jumped around to look at the Kingdom Stone. Some kind of wolf-like creature with white fur was standing near the Kingdom Stone, attaching some sort of clawed winch to it. He seemed to be in his teens, around the height of Master, and was clad in a black shirt with brown pants, ending in black boots and white gloves with red cuffs. A pair of red sunglasses were stacked on his face, resting around his forehead, and he seemed to pay no attention to them as he continued to secure the Stone to the winch.  
  
"HEY!" Lilac cried out, rushing forward towards the Kingdom Stone. Spade continued work on the winch until it was fully secure before turning back to Lilac. She spoke again, "What do you think you're doing?! That's the Kingdom Stone!"  
  
"So? I need it to find my father's killer," Spade replied, his voice thick and hazy, "Not like a couple of traitors like yourselves would care..."  
  
"I'd rather be called a traitor than a murderer!" Carol shouted back, assuming a fighting stance that made her claws glisten in the Stone-light.  
  
Lilac chipped in too, "The Scarves left us no choice!"  
  
"And you've left me no choice!" Spade growled, catching even Master by surprise, "I need this, and I WILL avenge my father!"  
  
"That's enough, buddy!" Master called out, digging out his Deagle and aiming it at Spade, "Look, I don't know who your father is...hell, I don't even know who YOU are! But I'm sure this can all be resolved if you stop this. Work with us. We can help you!"  
  
Master couldn't get another word out after that, his body already flying back via the force of about five explosive cards. Lilac dashed forward, deflecting the other three remaining through a spin attack. The cards sailed down into the abyss below and exploded soon after.  
  
Spade looked at Lilac, impressed, "Still training, I see? Impressive. Just say that I'll always be stronger to your friend there. After he wakes up, of course."  
  
"You wanna fight?" Carol growled, "Come and get it!"  
  
Spade chuckled slightly, "Well, I'd love to stay and dance with you two chumps. But Mayor Zao has a tight schedule. Which means so do I. Besides, if something else is guarding this thing, I'd hate to be around when it wakes up. Farewell."  
  
With a final smirk, Spade jumped up onto the Kingdom Stone and shook the wire. There was an almighty humming sound as the Stone was pulled out of its base and yanked off into the ceiling and through the hastily cut hole in the top of it. Master, having managed to recover from Spade's attack, yelled out a haste, "Bastard!" and screamed down the bridge, taking potshots at Spade with his Deagle, missing every time. Lilac grabbed Master and got him to stop, the risk of shattering the stone far too great. Soon, only a light pillar remained in place on the stand; Spade and the Kingdom Stone were gone.  
  
"Darrgh!" Blade called out in anger, "We had him!"  
  
"He'll never make it out..." Carol said hopefully, staring at the ceiling.  
  
"But we should..." Lilac said, "Come on!"  
  
Carol and Lilac, after picking Master up off the floor, began to run across the bridge, looking for an exit. However, they didn't get very far before an unearthly shaking sensation sent the three tumbling to the ground. Lilac was the first up and she looked up at the ceiling above them, and what she saw made her skin crawl. It was some sort of monstrous mechanical creature, in the shape of a preying mantis, crawling along the ceiling. Its steel body was huge, about the size of a double decker bus, and it had two huge appendages with sharp scythe blades attached to them. The rest was shrouded in darkness, but what could be seen was in poor condition; any semblance of green paint it may of once had was now almost totally chipped away, with the odd speck of dark green paint still clinging to its body like a bad smell. Its arms were quite damaged and looked ready to fall off at any time, the blades chipped and cracked across the rims. Finally was its head, clearly once home to antennas and two yellowish eyes, now replaced with broken stems and two shattered red eyes that "weeped" electricity.  
  
"What...IS that thing?!" Lilac called out.  
  
"Looks like the pre-assumed 'other guardian'..." Blade growled, Master getting into a battle stance, "Get ready to fight!"  
  
The mantis robot crawled its way to the bottom of the room, grasping onto the bridge with its claws. It eyed the three below, the remnants of its eyes boiling red with fury. It reared its head to the sky and screeched out a mechanical roar of terrifying proportions and geared up to slice at the three with its blades. Lilac, noticing Master's own combat pose, whipped her long hair strands as a sort of taunt, while Carol dug out her claws and got ready to pounce. None of them needed to have bothered in retrospect, as the metal monster was already past due. Electricity coursed through its being before a final screech bought about its demise. There was a ear-splitting boom as the head of the mantis bot exploded violently, spreading mechanical shreds everywhere and causing what remained of the body to heave around and keel over, losing its grip on the bridge and falling into the darkness below it. The trio, after shielding themselves from the debris, only looked on dumbfounded at this rather unexpected turn of events.  
  
"...Or not..."  
  
"Well, that was anti-climatic..." Lilac said, "I really thought we were gonna fight that thing."  
  
"I'm starting to wonder if our involvement in this story is changing things other than what we were expecting," Master said, scratching his head.  
  
"At least it was a change for the positive this time," Carol said, looking content, "Now, we better get out of here before-"  
  
Carol was cut off as the three were once again thrown to the ground. Rocks, boulders and other forms of stone clutter were raining down from the ceiling and cracks were quickly running up the walls.  
  
"Yeah...something like that happens."  
  
"The explosion's weakened the foundations of the caves!" Blade called out amongst the chaos, "It'll set off a chain reaction and bury this place in minutes! We've gotta move!"  
  
The three bolted soon after, running for their lives amongst such a devastating chain reaction. Every now and again one of them would slow down to swat away a rock that had gotten too close for comfort, but otherwise they ran as fast as their already tired legs could carry them. Carol in particular was running headlong, faster than Lilac in fact, with Master very close behind her and gaining fast. Carol was only thinking about one thing; ESCAPE. No way was she going to die in a glorified sparkly cave, not like this. The two ran into what seemed to be a sturdy passage and instantly regretted it; a nearby portion of the wall suddenly dislodged and slammed into the ground, sealing off the entrance. Both stopped and ran back to the wall, one of them crying out in anguish.  
  
"Carol!" came Lilac's muffled voice, "Where are you?!"  
  
Carol drew upon all her strength and clawed at the wall furiously. Predictably, she was not able to break it, crying out, "I can't break it!"  
  
"Don't worry!" Lilac's voice cried back, "Just keep going! DO IT!"  
  
There was a rush of wind and Lilac was gone. Carol quickly assumed it was one of her Dragon Boosts and ran off down the passage, dragging Master alongside her. The chain effect was now in full effect, with almost endless amounts of rock battering down from the sky, some almost the size of shipping crates. The two soon came up to another wall, the same as the first.  
  
"No! Carol screamed, "How're we gonna get out of here?!"  
  
"Don't worry!" Master said, Blade glowing even more than usual, "I can cut through this with Blade, just give me time!"  
  
"I can vibrate at just the right frequency to dissemble the molecules in the rock and cleave through it with ease!" Blade said, "If I can cut open the fabric of reality, I can deal with some measly rock!"  
  
"Anything else that thing can do?" Carol asked, "Maybe give free candy to every child it comes acro-"  
  
"CAROL NOT NOW!!!" Master screamed out, the white tinge to his limbs returning. Sadly, he never got time to cut into the rock, as a chunk of it the size of a standard wooden crate screamed out of the ceiling and smashed right into the duo, knocking them out almost instantly.  
  
Among the inferno, slowly losing what was left of her conscience, Carol could barely hear the sound of an energy cube forming. And then blackness.  
  
===  
???  
===  
  
"Carol!" came a familiar voice, "CAROL! WHERE ARE YOU?"  
  
Master was the first to awaken, as ever, staring at the sky. The sky itself was the same blend of fiery oranges and reds that they had been before his descent into the caves below and trees stretched off into the distance, interacting with shrubbery for miles ahead. And, oh, the sweetness of the air. Master looked to his side to see Carol, still unconscious, but otherwise alive. She got up too, aching and obviously injured in some manner.  
  
"Wha..." she started, "How did I...how did we..."  
  
"Blade..." Master asked, "What happened?"  
  
"Beats me," Blade said, "I blacked out too...somehow."  
  
"CAROOOL!" came Lilac again.  
  
"We better go see Lilac..." Carol said, straining under the effort. She got to her feet and walked a few paces before collapsing to her knees again. Master, himself still hurt from the falling rocks, walked over to her and hoisted her to her feet. Then, wrapping his arm around her shoulders to support her, walked off in the direction of Lilac's voice. She too was unharmed and in a far better state than either of the two. Nevertheless, Carol was happy to see Lilac, panting out, "You made it out..." in-between gasps of air.  
  
"Are you two okay?" Lilac asked, worried.  
  
"Kinda...think it's more than a scratch..." Master groaned.  
  
"More like internal bleeding and a few shattered ribs," Blade said, "But you're otherwise fine. The Kingdom Stone isn't interfering with my own powers anymore, so I should be able to heal you two right up."  
  
"But let me guess..." Carol interjected, catching on quick, "You got damaged in the chain attack and now you can't heal us to full health."  
  
"...Kinda..." Blade admitted, sounding quite sheepish.  
  
"Well, we better find Torque and get home so I can patch you two up..." Lilac said, "At least more than your super blade can."  
  
"Bite me, dragon girl," Blade grumbled, "I'm doing everything I can!"  
  
The three hobbled off back home, Carol and Master still resting on each other for support. Eventually, Carol regained enough strength to walk on her own and did so, leaving Master to continue his shaky steps behind the two. He was starting to get annoyed; a multiverse vigilante, fighting Chaos knows how many demonic entities over the years...and yet a stomach gash was doing him in.  
  
"Well this stinks..." Carol sighed, "How're we gonna get more money?"  
  
"We'll think of something..." Lilac started.  
  
"Money? What about it?" Master asked, "I managed to pick up about four hundred of those shiny buggers back there. They're EVERYWHERE!"  
  
"They didn't use to be..." Carol sighed, "If anything, this is a literal miracle. Times are tough enough as it is. Hence why we both turned to the Red Scarves..."  
  
"...Regret it?" Master asked.  
  
Carol looked away, saying nothing.  
  
"What I really want to know is why Spade is working for Mayor Zao..." Lilac mused, "...Buttloads of cash, maybe? Perhaps Zao might know about the assassination..."  
  
"Never got 'round to telling me about that, by the way," Master spoke up, but was ignored, "And, come to think of it, it doesn't explain what he needs the stone for either."  
  
"I have a bad feeling about all this..." Lilac sighed, looking off into the sunset. She looked over to Carol, no longer by Master's side, instead looking back into the path they had taken and looking curious, "What?"  
  
"Someone's following us..." Carol said in a curious manner.  
  
"What do you mean?" Lilac asked in an equally curious manner. Carol pointed to a nearby bush, a large one at that, from which a waft of cream fur was waving in the breeze.  
  
"Hmm..." Master said, digging out his Deagle, "Allow me to flush her out."  
  
"Are you crazy?!" Carol yelled, grabbing the Deagle from Master, "You wanna give it a heart attack? Let me handle this..."  
  
Carol threw the gun to Lilac, who caught it nimbly and awkwardly. Master almost instantly took it off her, too; this was clearly a world where conventional firearms did not exist, having long since been replaced by lasers, and the less accidental gunshot wounds the better. Master knew first-hand that bullet wounds were not as easily fixed as laser or plasma wounds. And hell, they weren't all that easy to heal either, come to think of it. He enabled the safety and unloaded the weapon, racking the slide to eject the loaded bullet and catching it in midair, before slipping the gun back into its holster and watching Carol. She was already near the bush, creeping on all fours, before she savagely pounced onto the bush in question.  
  
Something squealed in response and flew out of the bush, landing nearby. This allowed the three to get a good look at her; she was a dog, a hound at that, with cream coloured fur and wild orange hair. She was young, about ten or so years old, and wore fairly modest (if bizarre) clothing; it could only be described as a dark green striped leotard being covered by cream-coloured rags. She wore no shoes, letting her black-capped paws wiggle in the cool summer breeze, and wore bracelets and anklets that were mixes of green and orange. There were also green markings on her large floppy ears and green eyes to match. Master always had a soft spot for dogs, not that he'd ever admit that to anyone, and was secretly squeeing on the inside. Blade, who could always read his emotions, got a swift chuckle out of this.  
  
"Wait..." Carol said, as the three looked over the hound, who had quickly run off into another bush, "I saw someone with a shield pull us out before I blacked out. Perhaps it was her!"  
  
"Yeah..." Master said, maintaining his outwardly composure, "I'm sure I saw something green before I conked out, too."  
  
"Hello?" Carol called out to the hound, "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to scare you..."  
  
Lilac walked closer to the bush and kneeled down beside it, "It's okay. We won't hurt you. Well...two of us won't hurt you."  
  
The hound stopped shivering for a second and slowly crawled out from under the bush, "Are...are you a dragon?"  
  
Lilac giggled. The hound's voice was light and soft, almost music to her ears, "Yeah."  
  
"Can..." the dog whimpered, "...Can I touch your hair?"  
  
"...Wha..." Lilac started, eyes slanted in confusion.  
  
"Oh, okay..." the hound sighed, pawing at the ground, "Never mind..."  
  
"Wait, no!" Lilac said, snapping back, "I was just...surprised, is all. Go ahead."  
  
Lilac shifted herself so that she was sitting with her back to the hound, her two hair-like tendrils within easy reach of her. The hound grabbed one of the tendrils and tussled it in her hands, giggling all the while.   
  
"It's like a rope!" the hound cried out happily.  
  
Carol merely stared at Master and mocked a gag at the whole thing. Master in return, looked slightly amused.  
  
"What's wrong, Carol?" Master asked, "Jealous?"  
  
"Wha...NO!" Carol called out, "That's not it at all! It's just that...I...just think it's a bit sappy."  
  
"Too cute for you, got it," Master said smugly, getting a growl out of Carol.  
  
"Maybe we can be friends!" the hound said, standing up, "I'm Milla! Milla Basset! What's your name?"  
  
"Lilac," Lilac bowed in response, "Sash Lilac."  
  
"Lilac!" Milla said, giggling, "That's a pretty name!"  
  
"Thanks!" Lilac giggled back, "This is my friend, Carol Tea! And my, uh...uh...'hanger-on', Master."  
  
"Hi..." Milla said, hiding her mouth with her hands and staring at the two, Master glowering at Lilac.  
  
"So...thanks for saving us, back there..." Carol said, smiling, "But, what're you doing all the way out here?"  
  
Milla skipped past both of them, fidigitng around in the area behind the two, "Well, I was playing over here, and then those people came. They're not very nice..."  
  
"Trust us, we don't think highly of them, either..." Master sighed, "Shouldn't we get back to Torque? Tell him we dun goofed?"  
  
"Well we can't just leave little miss Milla here," Lilac said, tussling the hound's hair, "Perhaps you can come stay with us in our secret treehouse!"  
  
"R-REALLY?!" Milla cried, excited and barely able to stand still.  
  
"Yeah!" Lilac said, "Nobody knows where it is except us."  
  
"That sounds like fun!" Milla said, grabbing Lilac and giving her a big hug. Lilac started walking back to the treehouse with Carol and Milla tailing behind her. Master stayed behind, playfully tussling Milla's hair like Lilac before him.  
  
"Wait, what if she's a plug by Zao or something?"  
  
"Shut up, Blade," Master said peacefully, playing with Milla all the way back to the treehouse.


	4. Team Lilac

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DeviantART Link: https://masterperrymartin.deviantart.com/art/Freedom-Dies-With-Me-CHAPTER-3-552965438

=======================  
The Royal Chambers, Shang Tu  
=======================  
"Majister! The Kingdom Stone has been taken!"  
  
The Majister, great ruler of Shang Tu, did not want to hear this news today. It had been months since someone had last attempted to steal the Kingdom Stone from its legendary resting place, and even then it was a pack of roving thieves who really thought they were clever. Little did they know that such a magical artefact would be fiercely protected. Or at least, that's what he had thought. For as even though those previous thieves were still locked away in his jail cells deep within the palace walls, the thought that someone had finally managed to make off with the Kingdom Stone was...troubling, to say the least.  
  
The Majister looked around, beyond his Royal Chambers to see who was scurrying along towards him. Surprise, it was General Gong clattering his way across the blue-tinged marble floor towards him. The speed of his running caused to the blue banners to tussle in the breeze as the sunset's light shone through the blue-tinged windows. The Majister himself had been firmly sat in his blue throne until the news had reached him, and he gracefully stood up and approached General Gong.  
  
General Gong almost skidded to a stop before The Majister, trying not to leave marks from his sandals on the floor, before saluting, "Your Excellency!"  
  
"Stolen?" The Majister asked, "By who?!"  
  
"Mayor Zao!" General Gong barked, a hint of bitterness in his voice, "His pilgrimage to the Temple was a cover-up! Rushed us with a massive truck and took it by force!"  
  
The Majister remained silent. One of his best strengths was the ability to hide his emotions, after all. It had made him a trusted leader over the years, seen by many as a good man with a will stronger than obsidian and the intelligence to match. Any physical challenge was better handled by Gong and newcomer Neera, but he still ruled well over his little kingdom. Well, better than Prince Dail or Mayor Zao, at any rate. At least he didn't stick statues of himself everywhere.  
  
The Majister looked at General Gong, his face hidden by the massive helmet of his that covered everything but his piercing purple eyes in shadow, before looking out of the huge window over the horizon, "This is troubling...Zao may be a buffoon, but I never believed he was capable of this."  
  
"A trio of youngsters warned us about the attack," Gong explained, looking a bit embarrassed, "I...refused to listen."  
  
Gong had fallen to his knees and The Majister knew that he was about to apologise about this and that he had failed him and so on. The Majister knew that Gong was rather humble, which made him a great ally. That, and his pretty good fighting skills. Still, he turned to look at Gong, stopping him before he spoke.  
  
"Don't be hard on yourself for it, general. I would have been just as sceptical. Tell me...who was it that issued you this warning?"  
  
"Sash Lilac, Dragon, age 16. Carol Tea, Wildcat, age 15," came Neera-Li's voice. She too had entered the Majister's chambers, at a remarkably slower pace than Gong. The Majister took less of a shining to her, her need to get things done in one specific way getting in the way in every case she was put on. Still, she was a very good fighter, even surpassing General Gong in some areas, and her Staff of Ice made it easier to detain any criminal element that roamed Shang Mu. She spoke again, "And one unidentified creature."  
  
"...Unidentified?" The Majister asked.  
  
"Yeah," Gong said, standing up and joining Neera-Li by the throne, "A tag-along, from the looks of it. He looked kinda like a hedgehog under all that ridiculous winter get-up. Seriously, who wears a scarf THAT long in Spring? Anyway, he calls himself 'Master' or something like that."  
  
"...Seriously?" The Majister asked, his eyes half-open in scepticism.  
  
"He's real, I swear!" Gong shouted, "We saw him with all four eyes."  
  
"It is clear that this...urgh, 'Master' has a high opinion of himself," Neera-Li said, "Claiming he was a multiverse vigilante, trying to start a fight with me, said he was here to save the world...hated the guy the second he opened his mouth."  
  
"As did he with you, from what I saw," Gong said, "At best, I'd say he's...uh...Master, Hedgehog...around 17."  
  
"He sounds like a comic book villain," The Majister huffed in dismissal, "Nevertheless, I shall get my best men to...research him. A hedgehog is a rare sight in this world. Perhaps he may be of some use to us."  
  
"I hope not..." Neera grumbled under her breath.  
  
It was soon after that that The Majister dismissed them both for the night. The two complied, saluted, and began to walk down the halls to the doors. As The Majister saw them leave, he could catch faint snippets of one of their conversation;  
  
"Told you he'd react like that when we told him his name."  
  
"Shut it Gong. Thank the Great Dragon we didn't reel out his full name..."  
  
As the two made it down the various hallways, Neera couldn't shake the feeling that something was...off about Lilac and Carol. Not that Master guy, he was clearly some random doofus out for attention, but Lilac and Carol she knew all too well. Thieves. Ex-members of the Red Scarves, robbing trucks and temples, shops and boutiques, anywhere they could find crystals. They had abandoned the group over their ideology, at least that's what THEY said, but Neera was still as sceptical as ever. Two ex-thieves, showing up at the Temple moments before an ambush which resulted in the theft of the Kingdom Stone...there was no way in her mind that this was a coincidence.  
  
"Something doesn't smell right..." Neera said, walking down the halls.  
  
"Well sorrrry!" General Gong said after her, sounding a bizarre kind of offended.  
  
"YOU never smell right," Neera-Li said bluntly, stopping and turning to Gong, "I'm referring to those kids. They know something about this. We have to find them."  
  
"They're just kids, Neera," Gong sighed.  
  
"Kids who are reported thieves," Neera retorted, "We can't just trust them. They were at that blasted Temple, mere SECONDS before Zao struck. There's more to this."  
  
"I'm more concerned with that egomaniac hedgehog...thing," Gong stuttered, "What's his deal?"  
  
" **Ahh, yes, the average hedgehog. Quite rare on Avalice, and hated wherever they're seen. So much for the Planet of Freedom.** "  
  
Neera-Li stopped, "Was that you?"  
  
"No..." Gong shrugged. He turned to the two guards in the hallway; one was a dog, the other was a duck of some kind. He turned to the duck, "Was that you?"  
  
The duck quacked his response.  
  
"Oh..." Gong said, looking annoyed, "Thanks for the info."  
  
They and the two guards paused as a small beacon approached them, flying across the hallways to zoom in on their position. It was a small, round device, almost like some sort of camera, that hovered in place before the four and began to emit a bright blue light of some kind. It eventually refocused into some sort of hologram, and within that was a man. He was seemingly young, about Lilac's height, shrouded in a dark cloak that hid his body and face. The only things that could be seen were two hedgehog ears poking out of the top of the hood and two red, pinprick dot eyes that stood out from the shadow that should have been a face.  
  
Neera-Li, despite her initial shock, remained physically undeterred, "Not another one...who are you?"  
  
" **My name...is not important,** " came the voice again. It was indeed the one from before, hindered by static and low quality audio. It was clear the cloaked man was using a voice modulator, " **I was just...flying my drone to the local store and I couldn't help but listen you'd found a hedgehog.** "  
  
"What's it to you?" Gong asked, "He your brother?"  
  
" **He's related to me, yes...** " came the voice once more, " **I have been tracking him down for some time. And if he's shackled up with that Lilac girl...well, I'll be happy to get them to you as fast as possible.** "  
  
"You want to help us?" Neera-Li asked, "We don't just trust random strangers."  
  
" **Trust me, Miss Li.** " the figure put a hand, hidden within the long sleeves of his cloak, on his chest, " **I am a man of my word. You want to get rid of Lilac. I want to get rid of this...Master fellow. We are at an impasse. We HAVE to work together.** "  
  
"...Fine," Neera-Li grumbled soon after, "We'll trust you. You get me to Lilac, I'll give you that pathetic creature. But if you try to betray us..."  
  
The figure was not intimidated by Neera-Li at all and laughed, the faint glow of a row of razor sharp teeth visible in the cloak, " **Trust me.** "  
  
================================  
Dragon Valley, Lilac's Treehouse  
================================  
  
"Wow..." Milla cried out, "It's so beautiful!"  
  
Lilac smiled. The group had finally made it back to her treehouse and it was slowly getting dark. Even now, the sun was setting in the distance and casting a dark blueish hue across the landscape. Milla was bouncing around the entrance to the treehouse, barking happily and wagging her tail, while Carol was nearby with a tired expression on her face. Behind her was Master, as silent as he had been throughout the entire walk home. Lilac ignored the three and walked off. Near the base of the tree was a giant green tent, made out of a sturdy fabric that rippled in the slight wind. She couldn't see in the tent, but a strong yellowish light was flooding through the partially open flaps that made up the 'door'. as it were. Torque stumbled out of the tent, readjusting his shell as he went.  
  
"Hey, Lilac!" Torque called out.  
  
"Hey Torque," Lilac said, smiling, "I see you found your stuff."  
  
"Most of it," Torque sighed, "Hey, how did your visit to the Temple go? Did you stop the Kingdom Stone from being stolen?"  
  
"Oh no..." Lilac's joy stopped cold, "I forgot about that! Mayor Zao took off with the Kingdom Stone."  
  
"Oh..." Torque sighed again, before stepping forward and petting the moping Lilac's shoulder, "It's fine, it's okay, we can work with that. As long as it's in the hands of JUST Mayor Zao."  
  
"Trust us," Carol said, pointing to her and Lilac in a proud manner, "The most he'll do with it is turn it into a disco ball or something."  
  
"So, are you going to join us in our treehouse for the night?" Lilac asked, "Get some rest, be ready to get it back as soon as possible?"  
  
"Sadly, no," Torque said, "I've got most of my stuff, but almost all of it's offline. It'll take me a while to get it all working again."  
  
"Sounds like complicated stuff," Carol said, "Think any one of us could help?"  
  
"Thanks for asking," Torque said, looking back into his tent, "But it IS incredibly complicated stuff. I kinda want to get it running myself. And while I'm at it, I better have Master's gun, if he doesn't mind."  
  
"You can have it," Master said, taking the totally empty gun from its holster and giving it to Torque, "I don't really want to have that thing around Milla."  
  
"Seems like some sort of antique," Torque mused, looking over the weapon with amusement, "Well, at least in my culture it is."  
  
"A .50 Action Express Desert Eagle? Antique?" Blade asked, slightly dumbfounded, "Damn, son, this universe is very schizophrenic, technology-wise. Standard TVs, spears and swords in the army, motorbikes, and yet lasers, robots and spaceships too."  
  
"Hmm..." Lilac mused, "We'll make sense of this tomorrow. I still need to patch you two up, after all. Things should be pretty wild tonight, especially with that new girl."  
  
"Yeah!" Carol shouted, punching the air, "This is gonna be a fun night!"  
  
===========  
5 Minutes Later  
===========  
  
'Fun', Lilac thought. Maybe she was exaggerating a bit. Or rather, a lot. It had only been about 5 minutes since leaving Torque to fiddle with his machinery. The group, exhausted from the fighting at the temple, had collapsed around the various parts of the Treehouse's living room. It was a spacious, wooden interior, with bamboo shoots lining the walls and giving off an intense cultural atmosphere. Well, Carol said it did, anyway. Beyond the sheet doors was a dresser of sorts, hiding in front on a blue-tinged window with a phone sitting on top of it. Next to that was a bookcase with sparse contents, with only an apple, a model of a star and some coloured cases to call its own. At the corner of the room were a sofa and a chair, both wood-framed and lined with comfy red velvet cushions. Completing the look was a lamp and a television set, which was situated near the chairs. Lilac was sprawled out on the sofas, stomach-down, and twirling legs in the air. Milla was crouched down by the chair, looking wondrously at the TV, while Carol was on the floor beside her, a shapeless and bandage-covered green lump in the dim light of the cheap lamp. Master was sat in the chair, having fallen asleep, his snoring otherwise permeating the mere ticking sound of the nearby clock. But apart from that was mere silence.  
  
"I'm booooooored..." Carol whined.  
  
Lilac didn't want to admit it, but she was too. She had refrained from turning the TV on, since her dish had been disabled sometime before, and she was resting off the damages she had sustained during the Kingdom Stone lair collapsing. Still, her TV still functioned, and she finally relented; "How about a movie?"  
  
"Sure!" Milla barked happily, getting up.  
  
"Mhm, why not?" Carol asked, still lying on the floor.  
  
"What kind of movies do you like, Milla?" Lilac asked, sitting up on the sofa now.  
  
"I like being surprised!" Milla chirped.  
  
"Alright..." Lilac said, pausing, "...Hey, what about that Master guy? Shouldn't he get a say?"  
  
"What kind of parent names their kid 'Master'?" Carol grumbled, "Milla, could you..."  
  
Milla nodded happily and suddenly jumped up onto Master's lap. He awoke with a start, gibbering and thrashing at the heavy object that had jumped onto his lap. Milla quickly jumped off again.  
  
"Wh-wha?" Master asked, "What's going on?"  
  
"Sorry to wake you," Lilac said, "But we were going to watch a movie. Just wondered if you wanted to pick for us. They're in that bookcase over there."  
  
"...Sure," Master shrugged, getting up out of the chair and walking towards the bookcase, squatting down at the shelf of coloured cases. He looked around for a while, before turning to Lilac again, "Uh...where're your DVD's?"  
  
"DV...D's?" Lilac asked, "Never heard of 'em."  
  
"...You've never heard of DVD's?" Master asked, to which Lilac responded to by shaking her head, "...CD's?" Another shake, "Well what DO you use, then?" He grabbed the nearest case, and flipped it open. A black, plastic brick met his gaze, which quickly mutated into a look of pure dumbfoundedness.  
  
"...VHS tapes?" Blade asked incredulously, "...Laser guns, spaceships, robots...VHS TAPES?!"  
  
"Most common media form on Planet Avalice, thanks very much," Carol sighed, "Convenient and easy to store. Well, apart from them being bulky. Got a problem with that?"  
  
"Honey, VHS tapes are VHS  _paperweights_  in our time!" Blade said, "People nowadays only use them for nostalgia. Well that, and sticking pretty stupid B-Movies onto them."  
  
Master ignored him and studied the range of VHS tapes before him. Alongside the one he had picked out, there were about seven titles in all; the other six were ' _Year of the Dragon_ ', ' _Taken Away to the Fairytale Castle_ ', ' _Taken Away to the Fairytale Castle 2_ ', ' _Mad Speedz_ ', ' _Land of the Lizard People_ ' and ' _The Red Scarves_ '.  
  
"'The Red Scarves?'" Master asked.  
  
"A doccumentry on them," Lilac sighed, "Kinda how we got into the whole thing in the first place."  
  
"Ain't showing that one to Milla, then..." Master said, "I just can't see any we'd all like. What's the one in my ha...oh."  
  
Master had flipped the case in his hand over and stopped. There, staring at him from the cover, was an animatronic bear he knew all too well, its top hat doing nothing to hide the smug grin on its face. At the top, in bold letters, was ' _Five Nights at Freddy's: The Movie_ '.  
  
"...Okay..." Blade said quietly, "I'm pretty sure these guys are just fucking with us now."  
  
=========  
An hour later  
=========  
  
"Damn..." Blade sighed, "Even for video game movies, this is bad."  
  
"Shut up, Blade," Master grumbled, "It's actually pretty good."  
  
The four had been sitting around the living room, watching the movie with oft-blank stares. Every now and again, there would be a scary moment that would cause three of the four to shriek and jump in response. Each tried to react differently; Carol remained the strongest, acting like it had no effect on her, while Lilac was lying on her stomach hugging a pillow. Milla, on the other hand, had jumped straight into Master's lap, who in turn had begun to stroke her wild orange hair to soothe her.  
  
"I...get the feeling this was a poor choice of viewing material..." Master sighed.  
  
"Well, it's actually pretty good..." Lilac said.  
  
"It's just...scary!" Milla whimpered.  
  
"Yeah, good idea to show this to a ten year old," Blade snarked, "Even Torque would probably stay silent towards this crap!"  
  
"Speaking of..." Carol said, munching on a handful of popcorn, "Why d'ya think Torque doesn't want to hang out with us?"  
  
"He said he had some work to do," Lilac said, lying on her back now with her head on the floor.  
  
"Maybe he's just afraid he'll get cooties!" Carol teased, causing the three girls to break out in raucous laughter.  
  
"Cooties..." Milla giggled.  
  
"Shouldn't someone go check on him?" Lilac asked, "See if he needs anything? Water, some food, perhaps a break?"  
  
"I'll do it," Master said, getting up and placing Milla on the floor, "It'll shut Blade up for a bit."  
  
Master walked out of the room shortly after, stumbling past the TV and out the door within seconds. There was a sudden yelp and a crunching sound, which Lilac quickly went to investigate.  
  
"Ah..." Master groaned as he lay on the dirt below, "I forgot there was a ladder here..."  
  
"Jeez, are you okay?!" Lilac called down, crying out in shock.  
  
"I'm fine..." Master grumbled his response, "Only thing broken is my dignity...no, wait, wait. Nope, I've shattered my left kneecap, too. But other than that, I'm fine!"  
  
Lilac sighed and walked back into the living room, sitting down on the couch again, "You know what, Carol? I see your point now. He's such a handful. Like everything has to be about him."  
  
"Exactly," Carol said, pausing the movie, "Why do we even have him around?"  
  
"I'm guessing the same reason Torque set up shop here, too," Lilac shrugged, "There's something bigger going on with the Kingdom Stone than just Mayor Zao wanting more power. Torque seems to know why, and Master seems to know how. And he could be of massive help to us."  
  
"That good or bad?" Carol asked. Lilac had no answer to that, so she looked down at herself.  
  
"I dunno..." Milla asked, jumping onto the couch, "He looks nice enough..."  
  
"Master..." Carol grumbled bitterly, "Why does he call himself that? Why not Overlord? Or SuperGuy? Or just Perfect Chaos or some overblown name like that? Jeez, and I thought Mayor Zao had an ego!"  
  
"Urgh...this is confusing," Lilac sighed, pressing a hand to her aching temple, "All we were going to do today was rob Mayor Zao's truck. I didn't want to at first, but I probably would have had I known he was going to steal the Kingdom Stone. Then Torque comes crashing in, gets in a fight with that snake guy, then the other guy comes in and next thing we know we're in a temple dodging pickaxes and attacking robots!"  
  
"Sounds exciting!" Milla barked happily.  
  
"...Yeah..." Lilac smiled, looking up, "I guess it was. Kinda...kinda fun, even."  
  
"So, are we going to get involved?" Carol asked.  
  
"I don't know..." Lilac said next, getting up and turning the TV off, "It depends on how severe the whole thing is. I say we sleep on it and see what tomorrow brings. And get rid of this movie, too."  
  
"It's strange, I'll give it that," Carol mused, "Lots of interesting plot threads and characters, but a lot of it seems to go nowhere. Funny thing is, I don't even remember buying that tape."  
  
"...Neither do I..." Lilac said, staring at the tape case, "That bear creeps me out, though. Urgh, I'm going to bed."  
  
"Me too..." Carol yawned, "Milla, you better come to bed, too."  
  
"Where do I sleep?" Milla asked.  
  
"I've got a extra bed in the bedroom," Lilac smiled, playing with Milla's hair, "I use it if my other bed is...unavailable..." she quickly cast a glare at Carol, who simply smiled nervously, "You can use it. It's really comfortable."  
  
"Oh, thank you, Lilac!" Milla said, giving Lilac a big hug.  
  
"You're welcome, kiddo."  
  
===========  
Later that night  
===========  
  
"Not like a couple of traitors like yourselves would care..."  
  
Oh great, this again. Lilac always hated these kind of dreams. One where your own mind takes parts of the day previous and tries to make something of it. Your own brain guilt tripping you. Lilac gingerly got to her feet, each step responding with a resounding clanging noise. All around her was a black, empty void that stretched on for distances immeasurable, only the sound of otherworldly wails and muffled breathing meeting her ears. There were odd feelings on her body, like she was in bed tossing and turning.  
  
"The heck?" Lilac asked, her voice echoing alongside the wails, "Am I dreaming?"  
  
"I dunno..." came the voice again. Lilac turned around to see Spade again, his left leg up and resting on the stolen Kingdom Stone, "Though I guess that's why I'm even here."  
  
"Spade?" Lilac asked, "What ARE you doing here, anyway?"  
  
"Just here..." Spade said, crossing his arms, "I suppose I'm just looking after this here trinket for Mayor Zao."  
  
"...Wait, the Kingdom Stone!" Lilac called out, pointing to the item in question, "Give it back!"  
  
"Why should I?" Spade asked, "What use would this magic disco ball be to you over me? I need it to find my father's killer. For all I know, you're probably travelling around with him."  
  
"Not now," Lilac grumbled, "I still need time to figure out who he even IS! But trust me, Mayor Zao won't know who your father's killer. He barely understands the concept of modesty!"  
  
"I know," Spade sighed, "But he's the closest I have to a lead. Why do you even care? What do YOU want with the Kingdom Stone?"  
  
"I need it!" Lilac called out, "Torque said it might fall into the wrong hands! Danger might befall us!"  
  
"And?" Spade asked, "Did he say WHO those wrong hands belonged to? And WHY would it be dangerous? Do you even know?"  
  
Lilac stayed silent.  
  
"Exactly. Why do you just TRUST this Torque fellow? How do you not know he's leading you towards that guy's dangerous hands. If they're even dangerous. And even if YOU had the Kingdom Stone, you'd probably sell it..." he smiled deviously, "Carol's bike looks like it needs new treads, after all."  
  
"I'm not part of your little group anymore!" Lilac seethed, "I won't kill for some stupid crystals!"  
  
"...Yet..." Spade laughed silently.  
  
There was a sudden crack as Spade's face suddenly went numb and he fell to the floor. His still-breathing but limp body was kicked aside and some...creature took his place. He was of a medium length, about Lilac's own height, and was some sort of male demon-like creature. He wore no clothes and his body was a pure black, a shadow from head to toe with three deep scars across his chest. His hands had no fingers, instead ending in dark blue claws that also sprouted from his bare feet. His skin, only seen around his muzzle, was a deep purple that clashed rather oddly with his red eyes containing sunken black pupils. Completing the look was a small snout of a nose, wild hair, a thin spike of a tail and some kind of striped blue/black horn that sprouted from his forehead. His face was currently twisted into a sneer, holding his hand as if it was aching.  
  
"Jackass..." The creature growled, his voice gravely and eccentric, "And this is the guy who'll eventually become a Battletoad? Lame."  
  
"Wha,..wha..." Lilac asked, grabbing her head in confusion, "Who the heck are you?"  
  
"They call me...evil black Zeti creature!" The creature grinned, showing off his sharp teeth, "But most call me Frank Freakly. Franky, for short."  
  
"Why're you here?" Lilac asked, " I don't know you! I...oh wait. Does Master happen to know you?"  
  
"I'm a friend of his..." Franky said, "Well, I WAS. Haven't really been talking to him since he dropped the crust of a dying Earth on my homeland and killed all my brethren."  
  
"...Wait, what?!"  
  
"Trust me, he'll mention it sooner or later..." Franky shrugged, quickly dashing around Lilac until he reached her right side, "For now, I saw you were a bit...restless, so I thought I'd just quickly pop into your own head. Got a few warnings to give out."  
  
"And how would you know?" Lilac asked, leaning against nothing, "I'm dreaming. You logically know all I know, nothing else."  
  
"Well, I'm a bit beyond your dream..." Franky shrugged, "I mean, I AM a figment of your imagination, but I'm...Third-Party. I tend to appear everywhere Master does. I'm his...subconscious, if you will."  
  
"Explains his grouchy streak, I guess..." Lilac sighed, "So...you're here 'cause he's here? You're his influence. And because of that, you also know everything HE does."  
  
"Almost..." Franky shuffled across the floor, "I know almost everything. I just can't say it straight. All I can say is that Master isn't the only guy you can't trust."  
  
"What, is Torque secretly evil too?" Lilac snarked, "Did HE do something to your people?"  
  
"No, not at all," Franky said, "I think he's an upstanding man, But if you think he has a passing interest in this..." he knelt down towards the Kingdom Stone, "Sparkly Master Emerald wannabe, think again. He doesn't NEED it. But he IS trying to make sure someone else who wants it doesn't.. And we can say this guy knows Master...personally."  
  
"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Lilac asked. Franky opened his mouth and started to speak, but he stopped. There was an infernal ringing sign blaring out throughout the void. Lilac felt some off shift in her body and the voice above her was starting to murmur and yell. And if that wasn't enough, the sound of crackling electricity was slowly filling the air as well.  
  
"Darn it!" Franky called out amongst the inferno, "I've been cut short!"  
  
"What's going on up there?!" Lilac called out, the crackling being louder with every passing second, "Am I waking up?"  
  
"Yeah!" Franky called out too, "Looks like you're getting an early start! So sorry about this, Lilac old girl!"  
  
Lilac started to talk about, but stopped shortly after in a gasp. The crackling was loud now, and had a point of origin; four giant electrical cables were slowly ravelling out from the darkness, light blue lights skipping across their prongs. Lilac, weak at the knees, started peddling backwards before breaking out into a full sprint, but the cables snagged her leg and wrapped tightly around it, before wrapping around her torso and other limbs. The crackling was even louder and the feeling of the electricity was making Lilac's fur stand on end.  
  
"You don't have to do this!" Lilac called out, "Getting electrocuted is one of my worst fears!"  
  
"Sorry, Lilac..." Franky sighed, "This has to be done. Your mind won't let me do it any other way. The average walnut is a funny old thing. I'm sure you'll realise that. In time."  
  
"Well, at least I'm waking up soon..." Lilac winced, "I just hope things'll go more smoothly in the real world!"  
  
"Abandon that hope!" Franky said, now sporting a devious grin, "A new evil is coming to Planet Avalice and his red eyes spell doom for your kind! Only one of your many companions will lead you to the safety of this wretched planet, so pick a side and be on your guard!"  
  
Franky's grin vanished, as did the rest of him, and after a good five seconds he was gone. Lilac tried to call out for a final time, but the cables had become impatient. The electricity was now surging through her with hideous speed, and nothing but pure and puerile agony shot through every crack of her being. There was nothing left for Lilac to do but scream and pray, to pray that the night would soon be over. Time slowed to a crawl, second by petrifying second, until finally it all went black.  
  
===  
???  
===  
  
"Lilac! Wake up!"  
  
Carol was taken aback as Lilac screeched like a banshee and leapt out of the top bunk, tumbling to the floor in a crumpled heap. Carol quickly looked towards Milla in the corner, all snuggled up in the green-quilt bed. Or at least she was, until Lilac's screaming woke her from her slumber. Lilac, eyes red with tears of shock, jumped to her feet and grabbed Carol by the shoulders.  
  
"...What?"  
  
"Torque turned into an alien or something!! You gotta believe me!" Carol cried out, quickly jumping around.  
  
Lilac sighed, forcing the dream of getting electrocuted into the back of her mind, "Look...you probably had a bad dream, or something..."  
  
"I'M SERIOUS!" Carol squealed, "Trust me!"  
  
"Nrrrgh, fine!" Lilac sighed, patting the side of her head, "Let me just get my shoes on!"  
  
"What's going on, Lilac?" Milla whimpered, half-buried in her sheets.  
  
"Nothing, Kiddo..." Lilac grumbled, "Get some sleep, I'll be back soon."  
  
Carol quickly left the room and waited for Lilac to get properly changed. Odd old Lilac, always sleeping in her normal clothes, JUST in case they had to book it for one reason or another. Just another of her little...quirks, she guessed. Still, Carol had other, seemingly more distressing stuff to focus on at the moment. The funny thing was how she even came across it. She was just getting back from the bathroom when she heard some clattering and nattering from Torque's tent. She decided to take a quick peek and slowly fumbled down the wooden ladder to see. Inside was Master and Torque, merrily chatting the night away with tales of their own technology. Both seemed to be above their level at a quick glance; Master talked of cars that ran on this force called Chaos Energy as well as standard fuel, as well as large mechanical machines of war, far bigger than anything even the tech geeks Mayor Zao employed could've ever dreamed up. He also talked about these items called 'firearms'; weapons that, as opposed to firing lasers from an energy source, used an explosive force that propelled a small chunk of metal towards targets with questionable accuracy. Primitive even for Planet Avalice's standards, but the main thing that caught her ear was the fact that soldiers worldwide used them as opposed to just robots. Odd. Torque's own words painted a similar picture, but much more advanced; spaceships, black-hole engines and blaster pistols available to the common man aplenty. Carol was stunned. All this stuff sounded...interstellar. Was Torque an alien or something. Well...yes, obviously.  
  
It seemed to happen so quickly, too. One of Torque's machines had seemed to have malfunctioned, and as such was sending random bits of scrap metal around the room. The metal in question had hit Torque hard enough to knock the wind out him...and knock HIM out of his shell. He had skidded across the ground, losing his beak in the process, and stopped short of a box of crystal shards. With the shell gone, Torque looked a lot different. He looked slim, more normal, but more...alien. He WAS an alien! As soon as Torque got to his feet, he looked at Master, who's concealed face showed an odd type of shock. Both yelped in shock, pulling pistols on each other, and that was when Carol rushed out of the tent and scrambled up the ladder to get Lilac.  
  
As almost on cue, Lilac appeared in full clothing, gloves and all. The two sprinted through the house and down the ladder, barely pausing for anything, and dashed into the green tent. Carol was kind of surprised; having been unable to take in the scenery before, she never noticed it was so...large. The ceiling was a good foot above the tips of her ears and was mere metal poles arranged into a tent shape and covered with some hard, flexible green fabric. The grass was still under her boots as opposed to a carpet, and all around lay boxes and bits of machinery. In the middle of the tent, suspended over the floor, was a ringed device of some sort, holding many yellow orbs and a few more of many colours surrounding it. Torque and Master were still under that device, guns pointed at each other; Torque was obscured by Lilac's view but he had a blaster pistol gripped firmly in both hands, while Master had his "deagle" or whatever in his left, supported by a bent right arm that held the Blade of Hysteria in a backwards grip.  
  
"This is dumb..." Blade grumbled.  
  
"He's right," Torque said, "We've talked this over. Why're we still pointing guns at each other!?"  
  
"It's my fault..." Master sighed, "A side effect of a MasterSelf returning from insanity. Sometimes you get micro-relapses, I'm kinda not in control at the moment. Give me a second..." he grunted with effort, and both arms quickly fell to his sides, the Blade and gun tumbling out of his hands and landing with a soft thump on the grass, "There. Sorry about that, I just...sorry."  
  
"Torque?!" Lilac called out in shock.  
  
With Master moving to the side, Torque was in clearer view. He no longer looked like a shellduck, but more like some sort of alien. He lacked a nose, bar two slits set into the area above his mouth, and still wore his goggles. His hair was wild and unkempt, and he was wearing some kind of black and orange jumpsuit with bulky boots and gloves. He was quickly stretching his arms towards Carol and Lilac, panicked and shocked, "Wait! I-It's not what it looks like."  
  
Carol approached, angry and baring her claws, "What are you?! Give me answers, buddy!"  
  
"Okay, okay, I'll tell you!" Torque blurted out, backing up slightly, "But you have to promise to keep it to yourselves!"  
  
"We...we promise," Lilac said, recovering from her shock and strutting up to Carol, "Right, Carol?"  
  
"Right..." Carol said, calming down, "Pinky swear."  
  
"Got it, cap'n!" Blade called out, to which Master rolled his eyes.  
  
"Right, thank you..." Torque sighed in relief, before pointing to a couple of nearby toolboxes, "Please, take a seat."  
  
Lilac and Carol both sat on the red toolboxes, Lilac's legs crossing for comfort, while Master just sat on a nearby table, hunched over and legs crossed in such as a way as to look like a ball to the average person. Still, he looked up at Torque as well, who was grabbing some small round device from a nearby table and walking back towards the three.  
  
Torque started, his voice stable and with a tone of reason, "I'm from another world. Actually, I'm part of an alliance between many different worlds. We're called Chasers. I suppose...one of you have probably heard of it."  
  
Blade spoke up, almost on cue, "Well, not really. The closest we come to answering to any Space Police is the No-Zone's Zone Cops. A bunch of stuck-up jackasses and nothing else. But Chasers? Nope, sorry."  
  
"That's probably for the better, then," Torque said, taking in the information.  
  
"So, you're an alien?" Lilac asked.  
  
"I...guess," Torque shrugged. Carol suddenly started snickering and turned to Lilac quickly;  
  
"Space Cooties!"  
  
The two girls began giggling to themselves, but soon stopped when Lilac caught a glimpse of Torque's annoyed face, giving Carol a quick nudge to stop her.  
  
"...You don't believe me, do you?" Torque asked.  
  
"Actually, I do," Lilac said.  
  
"...Really?"  
  
Lilac's own tone shifted, seeing that it was her turn to inform, "They say that a long time ago, dragons came to Avalice and mixed with our ancestors."  
  
"Yeah, and not just ones like Lilac!" Carol said, spreading her arms, "HUGE dragons too, like in the movies."  
  
"Well, I guess that explains that rather...stunted physique," Master said, chuckling to himself. An annoyed Carol grabbed a nearby wrench and threw it in response, colliding with Master and knocking him off the table with a pained yelp.  
  
"So I guess it's not much of a stress for other things to be out there too..." Lilac said, shrugging, "Besides, old Perfect Chaos over there is from another timeline, so that kinda helps too."  
  
"You're welcome..." came Master's dazed reply, still sprawled out on the floor in a heap.  
  
"Answer me this, though," Carol asked, "What do aliens want with OUR planet?"  
  
"The man who wants your Kingdom Stone isn't really from around here either," Torque sighed, some weariness in his voice, "He calls himself Lord Brevon. And let me tell you, he didn't get that name selling cookies. He's dangerous with a capital D."  
  
Torque threw the device in his hand to the ground, which erupted into a flurry of light. It slowly formed a hologram, showing some cloaked monstrous creature within it. It looked almost like some sort of insect creature, his skin green and disgustingly filth-laden with two antennae growing out of his head that looked like a moustache. Completing the look was two red ears, piercing ones at that, that stared the group straight in the eye. Lilac shivered slightly; the dream Franky had told her that a pair of red eyes would bring doom to her world. Was this those red eyes?  
  
"Heh, he kinda looks like an upside down Eggman!" Blade called out.  
  
Torque ignored the weapon and continued, "Brevon is the most powerful enemy we've ever faced. Hundreds of worlds destroyed, thousands of heroes killed or corrupted, enormous amounts of energy stolen! And that's just the tip of the iceberg..."  
  
The hologram shifted again to the inside of some facility. Inside it were thousands of robots of every shape and size; some flying black blobs with guns, others with humanoid bodies composed of steel with a single tanked eye and laser rifles.  
  
"According to our scans," Torque continued again, "The Kingdom Stone has enough energy to double the size of his army. If he gets it, he'll be...unstoppable."  
  
The hologram ceased, leaving the three watching to process the information. Lilac and Carol looked intrigued, while Master had clambered back onto the table and was staring emptily at the floor, wrestling with his thoughts; such a man was powerful, dangerous, lethal, yes. But compared to what Master had seen, he was small fry. He had seen men who could burn an entire universe to a crisp, kill entire worlds to revive his dead sister...and still leave time for some guts on his weapon and a bloodied smile at the end of it all. This was nothing to him.  
  
"I'll try to convince your leaders of his existence," Torque said once more, "But if I can't get them to help me, if Brevon gets his hands on the Kingdom Stone...then I'm have no choice. I'll have to destroy it."  
  
This sent both Lilac and Carol into shock, Lilac blurting out a, "DESTROY IT?! Are you serious?!"  
  
"I'll only destroy it it if I have no other choice!" Torque quickly went on the offensive, "I swore to my Captain on his dying breath that I would not let Brevon get that Stone!"  
  
"I'm sorry about your Captain, but you can't destroy the Stone!" Lilac called out angrily, then stopped. A sudden thought came to her mind; the valley, the mechanical snake, the temple and the caves. Going around and destroying all those evil robots wasn't half-bad an experience. Kinda...kinda fun, even. Such an life, fighting evil, it was...wonderful. She spoke again, "In fact, you won't even have to think about it, because I'm going to help you get it back!"  
  
"...Are you sure about that?" Master asked.  
  
"I don't care how dangerous it is!" Lilac called out, posing heroically, "It's gonna take a lot more than robots and aliens to slow a Dragon down!"  
  
"If she's gonna go for it, than I am too!" Carol said next, standing up and looking confident, "If we can defeat the Great Dragon knows how many robots together, who knows what else we can do?"  
  
There was a sudden breaking sound and the group looked behind them in shock, Master and Torque both keeping gun hands towards their holsters. Thankfully, it was just Milla, having accidently broken some boxes on the way in, looking quite sheepish, "Um...I wanna come too!"  
  
"And you, Master?" Lilac asked.  
  
"Count me in, Dragon Girl!" Master said, getting off the table, "I'm here on a mission just as much as you are, and nothing ever gets in my way!"  
  
"At least not in a single piece," Blade chuckled.  
  
"Great!" Lilac said, looking a bit sneaky, "We could use the two...uh, three of you, maybe to save Carol's life a few more times."  
  
"Hey!" came Carol's quick response.  
  
"Say no more!" Master called out proudly, "We've got your back!"  
  
"And we've got the rest of you!" Blade said proudly too. Everyone simply turned to it with looks of confusion, "...What? I'm a weapon of war, not a comedian. Give me some space!"  
  
"I'd be lying if I said I was comfortable with this..." Torque sighed, looking weary, "But I honestly could use your help. Fact of the matter is, you all know this world better than I."  
  
"So it's all official, right?" Master asked.  
  
"Pretty much," Torque said, looking slightly happier, "Welcome aboard, comrades! One more thing though, just something really important...don't talk about our mission unless I say so, got it?"  
  
"Got it," Master said, "Last thing the world needs to think is that we're all loonies. Especially me."  
  
There was a brief pause, before Carol yawned and stretched, "I dunno about you guys, but I'm exhausted..."  
  
"Yeah, we better get some shut-eye..." Lilac yawned too, "We've got a big day ahead of us. OH, Master! I never got you a bed, did I?"  
  
"I'd like to lend you one," Torque shrugged, "But I don't have the room for it."  
  
"Don't worry, we'll find a place," Master sighed, "After a life jumping across the multiverse, you get...creative with where you snooze. Can't remember the last place I called home..."  
  
The four said no more, instead just walking out the door of the tent to get back to the treehouse. Master was first out, then Milla, then Carol and finally Lilac. A quick shout from Torque kept Lilac halfway though the door, though.  
  
"One more thing Lilac..." Torque said, his voice quiet and soft, "...Thank you."  
  
Lilac simply nodded her approval and with that, she was gone. Torque sighed and began working on his machines again. The sooner he got this stuff on-line, the sooner he'd be able to clear a space to lay down for the night. Bit of a shame half of his pillows and sheets had burned up in the crash, but whatever.  
  
"Oi, Torque!" came Master's voice. He was now half in the doorway himself, "Just wanted to ask a question about this Brevon bloke."  
  
"Go ahead."  
  
"Good, uh..." Master started, "This Brevon bloke. Does he wield a particular blade? Like, one that's large and curved and eternally bleeding with a strange alien liquid?"  
  
"Yes, why ask?" Torque said innocently.  
  
Master looked saddened or shocked, or perhaps resigned, "No reason...just wanted to know, that's all."  
  
He quickly left. As he was making his way up the ladder, Torque could hear some conversation between him and his weapon. Master was the first to speak;  
  
"Well, shit."  
  
"Conclusive evidence alright..." Blade sighed, "War Lilac had Brevon's blade that day. So I guess he IS involved in some matter."  
  
"But how?" Master asked, his frustrated voice slowly carrying off into the distance before becoming totally quiet, "If we knew WHEN he played his part, I could kill him before it and that might stop Lilac's descent into insanity. If only..."  
  
The voice stopped.  
  
====================  
Meanwhile, at Shuigang Palace  
====================  
  
"GOOD EVENING, SIR."  
  
Syntax's mechanical voice was always one that Lord Arktivus Brevon enjoyed. Not because it was a good voice, but more because it often meant the AI had found someone else to kill. Brevon turned to his main AI, the being known as Syntax. She, or rather it was a large orb of a robot, its main body a black metal with a mechanical eye attached directly to the centre of the orb. Above it was a bright green glass dome, contents shrouded by inside fogs and liquids, while below the orb sat two green whip-like arms ending in pincers. The robot shifted its position again, "IT MAY INTERESTING YOU TO KNOW THAT THE LOCATION OF THE ARTEFACT HAS SHIFTED."  
  
Brevon put down the glass of mysterious liquid he had been sipping from and glared at Syntax, his voice deep, dark and like a blender of gravel, " _Where?_ "  
  
Syntax floated backwards somewhat upon this growl of an order and released a hologram from its eye. It showed a map of the region, three main locations marked. These were the three cities of the county, and the middle one was highlighted. Syntax's artificial voice spoke again, "IT IS MOVING TOWARD A DENSELY POPULATED REGION TO THE EAST."  
  
Brevon smirked with a devilish grin. For years he had heard of this magical Kingdom Stone and now, when he was searching for it the hardest, he had found it. Sort of. Still, the Stone was just out of reach, but he had a solution. He crossed his arms and barked out, " _This could work to our advantage...get me the King's son._ "  
  
"RIGHT AWAY, SIR BREVON-" Syntax beeped a final time and flew off to fetch the Prince. Brevon waited, his smirk ever widening. Ever since being shot down and stuck on this poxy little wasteland of a planet, Prince Dail of Shuigang had been his best ally. He remembered his...acquisition of him like it was yesterday. His smirk stopped briefly. Oh wait, it WAS only yesterday. Still, it was not hard to forget. It had only been a few hours after crash landing, after all. Brevon hated that. A lord of the universe, killing everything in sight. And yet it was those infernal, ghastly, goody-goody Chasers that had managed to puncture his Dreadnought's energy supplies. One emergency landing later and the batteries had run dry. Brevon knew had he to regroup, re-arm and re-energise as soon as possible. And the Shuigang Palace was right across the river.  
  
Gathering what troops he had left, Brevon had burst straight into the Palace to take control and establish a base. Even in this weakened state, Brevon's army was a unified machine of war; nothing could stand before them, lasers firing out in a macabre chorus of death and destruction, cleaving through every last minuscule line of defence imaginable. The king was exasperated, crying out that their walls were impenetrable. Brevon's own answer was to simply tell him, well, the floor wasn't. Even now, Brevon chuckled to himself at that little joke. Soon after that little...pleasantry, Brevon had drawn his blade and cut deep into the King's neck. The weapon, forever stained with the blood of a thousand innocents, cleaved through the old codger's neck like warm butter. Bloodied feathers flew out of the neck stump as the body and its missing head fell to the ground in a heap. Brevon would forever savour that moment; to him, killing was an art form, a method that needed precise timing and execution (pun intended). Granted, you could just SHOOT someone, but where was the fun in that? No, to Brevon that idea of fun was torture. Painful, cold-blooded, brutal, anything that made a man scream for mercy, to beg for the hideous shadows of death itself. And that's what he had done to the king's precious Prince, for a good week without pause. It did not take long for the young panda to submit and view Brevon as nothing above or below. A god amongst all people, himself included.  
  
The grey panda Prince in question was now hobbling towards Lord Brevon, his bloodied green robes swaying proudly behind him. His eyes, once a brilliant blue, were now a dulled fiery red due to the brainwashing, and he had his hair tied up into a stupid little knot. Brevon grumbled, hoping to eventually find more...suitable clothing for a Prince of war. Perhaps a cloaked set of armour like himself? Still, the Prince had stopped and he was now standing stock still in front of Brevon.  
  
The Prince spoke up, his voice a quiet and timid murmur, "...Master Brevon."  
  
" _Where do your duties lie, Prince?_ " Lord Brevon asked, his face a cold sneer.  
  
"It is my duty to protect my father's kingdom."  
  
Brevon, satisfied, walked past the Prince. His boots made an unearthly clanging sound as he strode past the panda and stopped again, " _You would sacrifice your very life for the good of this...kingdom, wouldn't you?_ "  
  
"Yes."  
  
Brevon took a few more steps to the left, his voice now taking a commanding tone, " _And you would crush all those who threaten its safety!_ "  
  
"We must protect it at all costs."  
  
" _Excellent..._ " Brevon muttered with glee. The young boy's mental programming had long taken effect. He knew, deep inside the boy that the old mind was still in there, weeping and trying to escape this torturous hell. But hell indeed, that just made it that much more...fun, " _The one you call Zao has taken something very precious. Something that could put your kingdom at risk. You're not going to let him keep it...are you?_ "  
  
"ERROR! ERROR! EXTERNAL HACKING PROGRAM IN PROCESS!" came a screech from Syntax. The two looked at the machine, the creature flailing around in some sort of virtual agony. Finally, it stopped and it went limp. The green colours in its body changed to a deep red and a hologram was released from it eyes. Only now, instead of a man, there was a cloaked being with piercing red eyes. Lord Brevon saw a slight twitch in the Prince's eye; perhaps he had seen this fellow before? Nevertheless, the brainwashing made it so he'd never get the answer now.  
  
" **Greetings, Lord of Genocide,** " the being said, his voice warped beyond proper identification, " **So nice to finally make your...acquaintance.** "  
  
Lord Brevon drew his blade, " _Who are you, cretin? State your name and purpose!_ "  
  
" **My name is of no concern to you,** " the figure spoke again, " **And I'm here to tell you that your little braindead busyboy won't be enough to get the Kingdom Stone. You'll need much more than him if you wish to pry it from Zao's cold, dead hands.** "  
  
" _...What are you implying?_ " Came Brevon's sceptical response, " _Are you proposing an alliance? Let it be known I do not team up with random strangers I do not know._ "  
  
" **Shame, because I know you,** " the figure said, rattling off a list of facts, " **Born on the planet Fearax, dead mother with father in the military. Forced to kill in self-defence at the age of 15 and never stopped afterwards. Travelled the universe, making as much of it your female dog as possible. Crash landed on Planet Avalice, now wants to escape to nuke it from afar and enslave its best warriors. And to do that, you need the Kingdom Stone.** "  
  
" _...How do you know all that?_ "   
  
" **I know things,** " the figure said, " **We are at an impasse, Lord Brevon. You want to get your hands on the Kingdom Stone, AND the meddling Chaser who managed to shoot you down. I want...an old accomplice of mine, a guy who is travelling with the latter to get at the former. And I want him DEAD.** "  
  
" _So you're saying that you will help me find this...battery..._ " Brevon said, " _And in return, I must find you a certain cretin and bring him to you. Sounds like a fair trade._ "  
  
"Are you sure, Master Brevon?" The Prince spoke up, his voice angry and laced with defiance, "How can we trust this stranger? He could double cross us at any time."  
  
" **No, that's your own master's work...** " the creature growled, his mangled voice putting on a barely noticeable tone of bitterness, " **The man who probably has a tape of your torture sessions with a box of tissues nearby. And besides, if you're a good boy and do your part...I may just find you your father's killer...** "  
  
The Prince went silent, "...We accept this offer."  
  
" _Just DON'T think of turning on us at the last second,_ " Brevon threatened, " _Many have fallen to an agonising death from such foolishness._ "  
  
" **Trust me, Arktivus Brevon. I am a man of my own word. But are you one of yours? We shall speak again soon. Just know that you will have a new enemy soon enough. Her name is Lilac. Sash Lilac the Water Dragon. And she shall be the end of you unless you do something.** "  
  
And with that, the hologram was gone, Syntax's body flopping to the floor to begin a lengthy reboot sequence. Lord Brevon pondered. This...creature, whatever and whoever he was, was clearly someone way in over his head with this deal. Still, Brevon was perhaps one of the strongest men in the galaxy. If he could fight off waves of idealistic do-gooders who wanted to play hero, he could handle some random cloaked creature. And if this person kept their promise....well, a dagger to the spine helped cut away at loose ends.  
  
" _Prince Dail, mobilize the Sky Batallion!_ " Brevon barked towards the Prince, " _We carry on as planned. Advance towards Zao's domain and take back the Kingdom Stone by any possible means!_ "  
  
"Yes, Master Brevon!" Prince Dail barked in response, turning and running off towards the castle's throne room. Brevon looked out over the lands before him. Oh how soon it would until those disgustingly pleasant blue waters were chocked a raw green with sewage and corpses. How such a wonderful castle would be rubble. And how Brevon would be overjoyed to see the lights in the eyes of this Lilac girl fade by his hands. He chuckled to himself, and slowly plodded his way out of the room. He had a lot to do.  
  
Syntax's body, still sparking, suddenly lit up again. This flash of red was more brief that before, carrying the remnants of the cloaked figures thoughts.  
  
" **So now the three forces are at it. Good vs Evil vs Lilac and Master. Good...very, very good. I guess now it's time for me to play the Trump Card...** "


	5. Casino Nights at Zao City

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DeviantART Link: https://masterperrymartin.deviantart.com/art/Freedom-Dies-With-Me-CHAPTER-4-554584929

The sun shone brightly through the windows of the Treehouse that day, a wonderful velvet-esque blanket of light cascading onto the nearby table. Everything was still, quiet and quaint; none of the treehouse's occupants were awake yet. Lilac had eventually walked back into bed and eventually managed to get some sleep, the nightmares and the Half-Zetis vanishing into the ether for the night. Carol and Milla too had fallen into deep and rewarding sleep, dreaming of their upcoming adventures across the world. Master was, at the moment, nowhere to be seen. There was a clanking sound as a gloved hand slammed onto the top board. It was Torque, who was climbing up the ladder to the Treehouse and was already dragging himself to the table that was set up near the kitchen.  
  
"Hello?" Torque called out, helping himself to his feet, "Anyone awake?"  
  
Torque sighed. Nothing. Guess the girls were heavy sleepers. Torque didn't want to just wake them, though. He knew he needed them as awake as possible to get through this adventure in one piece, and hopefully not one that was big and flat. His impulses had already doomed his captain and a good percentage of his friends to the endless void of death and he was...unwilling, to say the least, to lose anyone else. He turned to the doorway and quickly jumped in mild shock. Master was leaning against the doorframe, his eyes clasped shut and his arms crossed across his body. His snoring confirmed he was still asleep.  
  
"...Master?" Torque asked, giving Master a quick poke. Master responded by jumping and losing his balance, quick babbling sounds escaping his throat. He stopped and straightened himself up.  
  
"Oh, hey Torque..." Master yawned.  
  
"Sorry about that," Torque quickly said, "It's just that...well, you were sleeping standing up."  
  
"I do that sometimes," Master said, "Carol said I couldn't sleep on the sofa. Didn't want quills in the pillows, know what I'm saying?"  
  
"...And you agreed?" Torque asked, looking a bit miffed.  
  
"Well, let's put it this way..." Master said, a small grin visible below his scarf, "Quills in wooden planks? WAY harder to remove. Anyway, what're you doing up here?"  
  
"Just...waiting for Lilac and the others to wake up," Torque shrugged, "We've got a lot to do today."  
  
"Yeah..." Master sighed, scratching his head, "Gotta get the Kingdom Stone back from Mayor Zao and stop it from getting into Brevon's hands."  
  
"I don't know why you guys bother with that Brevon guy..." Blade said, somehow yawning also, "He's small time compared to what we've seen."  
  
"Oh! Actually, that's something I wanted to ask you two about," Torque said, "About last night. Where you asked about Brevon's blade. I heard you mumble a few things. Like this thing about...War Lilac, I think."  
  
Master's eye shrunk in shock, "Uh, what? No, uh, I have NO idea what you're talking about!"  
  
"Don't bother, kid," Blade sighed, "He heard us. He's curious. He wants to know."  
  
Master sighed too and arched his head up at Torque, "So. You really wanna know, huh?"  
  
"I do," Torque said, "You're not from this dimension. Hedgehogs like you are rarely seen on this planet and are often hated when they are. Which isn't helped by the fact that you look nothing like an Avalonian Hedgehog. And you do seem to go on about Chaos and Master Emeralds a lot. Strictly Mobian artefacts. You seem to know little about this adventure but a lot about everything else. So, why're you here?"  
  
"...Well, you've told me everything about yourself..." Master said, getting off the doorframe with an audible crunching sound, "Guess I have to do the same. I don't suppose you want some tea?"  
  
"What, Red Leaf Tea?" Torque asked.  
  
"Ah, Chaos no!" Master responded, visibly repulsed by the thought of it, "No, that stuff sucks. I mean Earl Grey. Normal stuff."  
  
"Huh...okay," Torque shrugged. Master walked off into the nearby kitchen and it did not take long for the sound of boiling water to fill the area. They soon ceased and, a good few minutes later, Master walked out of the kitchen with two mugs of pale tea. He gave one to Torque, who sipped it, "Thanks. Been a long time since I've had this kind of blend."  
  
"Yeah, every universe has their own preferred tea type," Blade said, slightly irritated, "Earl Grey, Darjeeling, Black, White, Green, Blue, Orange...you just get sick of it, you know? So we keep a bag of Earl Grey teabags on our person at all times. Strange custom, but we're happy about it. Well, he's happy about it."  
  
"I'm a United Islander," Master shrugged, "I kinda have to. Fills people with a sense of comfort to see someone of my...position drink tea instead of water. Anyway...you want to know what's gong on with us. And I'll tell you..." he stopped, placing his mug on the floor and digging a photo out of his pocket, "You're right, I'm not from this universe. I'm from Universe 112233C, an offshoot of the U123 line of parallel universes. The difference in question being...well, the fact that I exist within it. And did...things...well, I'm not from around here, no. All things said and done, I'm not even sure how I got here. I was relaxing in what they call the Boomiverse with a few friends and my girlfriend. We were studying this portal that had just opened in the middle of the village square. No-one was allowed in it, just in-case the area beyond it was uninhabitable. And it...kind of was. You know what a planet on the brink of dissolving into dust is like, don't you Torque?"  
  
"I...I do..." Torque said, his voice wavering as he stared deep into his half-empty mug of tea, "Brevon has laid waste to so many places across space and time...just seeing the faces of the downtrodden mashed into paste for to sake of a madman's lust for power he has no right to own...it's sickening."  
  
"Testify, comrade," Master sighed, "Large, blood red skies looking over hideous amounts of debris, blood and dust and Super Jam everywhere. All I remember was some hand reaching out of that portal and there I was in a hellish wasteland. I sought the nearest library to see what was going on. This group called the Red Scarves, far different to what we've seen in this timeline, had been keeping notes and trying to record history with faulty memories. They say that, in 2015, this Warrior turned up, pulling a meteor..."  
  
"Well, meteor-sized spaceship."  
  
"...Out of orbit and slammed it directly into the ground. Straight up obliterated one of the three major cities on this part of the planet and encased the others in a dust cloud. The Warrior went on a four year rampage, slaughtering all in her wake."  
  
"...And who was this Warrior?" Torque asked. Master said nothing, instead giving the photo to Torque, who went silent with the shock, "L-Lilac?"  
  
"War Lilac, specifically," Blade said, allowing Torque to absorb all the details, "Killer of her own kind, went on a massive killing spree just to see us again, called us imposters straight after doing so...our new best friend."  
  
"So..." Torque asked, getting things clear in his head, "You're here, because unless you do something about this, Lilac's gonna go insane and just start offing people without pause?"  
  
"Yes. I don't know how or why, but apparently I get involved with her descent into madness. And because of that, I now have to do something about it. I was trusted to do so by the future Carol herself."  
  
"So that's why you asked me about Brevon's own dagger," Torque said, things now quickly slotting into place, "Because Brevon's involved somehow."  
  
"War Lilac had Brevon's blade on her when she met us," Blade explained, "Pretty good skill with it, too. In fact, too good. Nicked Master in the stomach and even with my healing powers going full pelt the freakin' thing refuses to heal."  
  
"Brevon's blade eternally bleeds with the blood of the millions he's wronged," Torque said, his tone taking on the same informative tone as it had done the night before, "So much of it, in fact, that it's somehow given it new properties; never stops bleeding, can cleave through almost anything, hurts like hell and can inflict wounds that overpower even the strongest of medicines. Just so the victims stay alive longer."  
  
"Great..." Master sighed, "So, this will never heal?"  
  
"It will, in time," Torque said, his tone returning to normal, "But try not to do anything too extensive for the time being. If that wound opens up again, you're probably done for."  
  
"Well, it's going to now you've said it..." Blade snarked, "I know how this works."  
  
"Look, don't worry about me," Master said, finishing the last drop of his tea, "While my mission is important, it's nowhere near as important as yours. There's no point in saving Lilac if there's no world for her to change for the better."  
  
"Good point," Torque said, "We have to stop Brevon above all else. THEN we can turn attention to keeping Lilac sane. How were the others?"  
  
"Carol was the leader of the Red Scarves during that time period," Master said, "War Lilac probably killed Spade, so she took over. A wounded, jaded, empty person. No hope and no soul. As for Milla...huh. We didn't actually see Milla. I mean, there was a voice in Brevon's blade which sounded a little bit..." Master stopped, his face becoming twisted and pained, burying his head in his hands, "Oh, GOD no..."  
  
Both stopped and jumped at a sudden ringing sound. The phone just on the table near the window was active and ringing like crazy. Both stopped, frozen in their seats, until a "Coming!" sounded off from down the hall. It was Lilac, rushing headlong towards the room and zooming past Master and Torque both. She grabbed the phone and put it to her ear, "H-Hello?"  
  
"Hello. Uh, this is General Gong..." came a muffled voice from the other side of the phone, "We were looking over your skills from yesterday and thought, well, we might need your help."  
  
"Help?" Lilac asked, "What for?"  
  
"Just...we think we may have use for your...talents," General Gong stammered across, "Uh, meet us in the Lavender Fields just outside your valley. And come soon!"  
  
The phone beeped and clicked, endlessly whirring afterwards. Lilac put the phone down, "Strange...oh! Morning guys!"  
  
"Morning, Lilac," Master said, putting his mug away.  
  
"So, was that General Gong?" Torque asked.  
  
"Yeah," Lilac said, smiling as much as ever, "Said he wants to meet us in the Lavender Fields. Got a proposition for us."  
  
"I dunno..." Master said, sound sceptical, "Sounds like a trap."  
  
"Probably...but it's not like we can just wait around either. I'm gonna go wake the others up, you two get ready!" Lilac was beaming like the moon and was soon rushing back into the bedroom to wake up the still snoozing Carol. Torque paused, looking at the photo of War Lilac for a final time before giving it back to Master.  
  
"Those eyes...what could've happened to someone as innocent and pure as Lilac to make her that thing?"  
  
"Trust me, I've got a few ideas..." Master sighed, "Better get back to your tent and prepare. Oh, and Torque?" Torque stopped mid-turn, "Make sure Lilac doesn't know I'm here to save her sanity. I think she passed it off as a joke last time, and I have the horrible feeling this adventure is going to put a lot of pressure on her. The last thing she needs is the idea that she might turn into KillCrazy.exe. Got it?"  
  
"You have my word," Torque said in his usual stoic tone.  
  
"Thanks Torque. You're a good man," Master sighed, "Kinda wish there were more people like you across the multiverse..."  
  
Torque gave a final smile and soon vanished down the ladder.  
  
===============  
5 Minutes Later  
===============  
  
"Huh. I was wondering when you'd be awake..." Torque said quietly. It was about one in the afternoon, and the four adventurers were standing in front of him in a line; the smiling Lilac, the yawning Carol, and adorable Milla and the silent Master.  
  
"You can blame Carol for that," Lilac said, "She sleeps for like, half the day sometimes."  
  
"Totally worth it!" Carol said, smiling through a yawn, "What's going on, anyway?"  
  
"We got a call from that General Gong fellow," Master explained, "He's going to help us in some manner."  
  
"When is he coming?" Torque asked, feigning some slight ignorance.  
  
"Actually, we have to go meet him," Lilac explained, "He'll be waiting for us north of here, in the Lavender Fields."  
  
"Perfect!" Torque said happily, "I fixed my radar last night, so we can use it to find the meeting point."  
  
"Great!" Lilac called out, "Ready, people?"  
  
"All set!" Carol called out.  
  
An excited Milla squealed out, "To adventure!"  
  
The group then turned tail and headed into the distance, going north to the Lavender Fields.  
  
======================  
In the Lavender Fields  
======================  
  
Well, Torque had to give them some credit; the Lavender Fields were...well, Lavender. Well, more a deep and soulful purple, but still. The rocks and rich vegetation of the lower parts of the Valley still permeated the area, however, and cherry blossom trees were almost everywhere. Some sharp bones were laid scattered across the plains, for reasons best left unexplained. Torque was in his Shellduck disguise as the moment, and while he knew it was needed to 'blend in' as it were, he hated it; heavy, bulky and somewhat ill-fitting, but it was the best he had with what little he could scavenge from his maiden ship before being forced to escape. The screams...oh the screams of his crewmates...  
  
He snapped out of it as a beeping sound met his ears. His radar was going off like mad, the screen a glowing green with circles and blips of light everywhere. He checked thoroughly.  
  
"According to the radar, we seem to be at the right location..." he mumbled, staring blankly at the screen,  
  
"Umm...I think it's a little off..." Carol sighed, looking straight at the ribs on the floor, "I think you might've used just a little too much percussive maintenance..."  
  
Milla paid no attention to these proceedings. She was looking around, smelling the air. Around them was a sweet scent that tickled the young hound's noise, causing it to wriggle as she laughed alongside it. Its silent laughter ceased, as another scent soon met her nose. Something darker, less sweet...wait, never mind, MORE sweet. Like some kind of chilli sauce. She looked up, back across where the group had just come; above them was a small cliff of some kind, and the scent was coming from there.  
  
"This way!" Milla cried out, looking up towards the cliff face. Lilac turned around to see it too.  
  
"Up there?" Lilac asked, "How're we gonna get up there?"  
  
"Easy!" Milla said sweetly. Before anyone could react, she jumped straight up into the air and did something most peculiar; she started flapping every available appendage at her disposal and, with every flap of an arm, leg and ear, she ascended. The little hound hovered up over the cliff face and was gone, briefly pausing to look at the four left below her, "Come on!"  
  
"...She can fly?" Carol asked incredulously.  
  
"Oh my Chaos, that was so cool!" Master belted out also, leading to a quick glance from the others. He quickly cleared his throat, "Ahem! I mean, uh...impressive."  
  
Lilac was the first to climb up there. An odd aura surrounded her and she quickly zipped upwards into the air, leaving only a shockwave of sound behind. Carol quickly explained to Master that it was a Dragon Boost, some kind of magic pseudo-spring move that Lilac had trained since she had first met her, before digging her claws into the wall and climbed up that way. Torque was next, using rockets in his shoes to ascend, two shining tongues of flame erupting out of his boots as he sailed over the cliff too.  
  
"Ptth. Showoffs..." Blade grumbled. Master ignored him and thrust Blade towards the cliff face. Once more, Blade split into multiple segments and extended, clasping the very edge of the cliff with the tip, before Master jumped and retracted the segments to pull himself up the cliff and over its edge. Grinning at this show of powers, he quickly joined the others at the meeting place. Alongside Lilac and Carol and the others, there was also General Gong and another blue bird guard opposite them. Two yellow planes were sat either side of the meeting place too, pristine but inactive.  
  
"Well, that hound of yours sure has a good nose..." General Gong said., bowing, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am General Gong of Shang Tu."  
  
"Yes, we know," Master growled, "We had the...pleasure of meeting you yesterday. Where's your royal quisling, Miss Neera-Li?"  
  
"She couldn't make it," General Gong explained, "Said she had some work to do back at the base. Anywho, the Royal Majister has a proposal. We'd like you to help us get the Stone back. It's in the greedy little hands of Mayor Zao, in our neighbour city of Shang Mu."  
  
"I'm guessing the next city is Shang Zu?" Blade snarked, "Or maybe Shang Tsung?"  
  
"Why do you need our help?" Carol asked, slightly annoyed, "Don't you have soldiers and spies and stuff?"  
  
"And tanks and robots and...VHS tapes..." the General sighed, "We wanna try and resolve this thing peacefully if we can. No good starting a war over something like this. So we're sending in a neutral party to negotiate. Given the, uh, current state of affairs in Shuigang, they're out of the picture."  
  
"Aww, I really wanted it to be Shang Tsung!" Blade moped.  
  
"I see," Torque said, nodding, "So you need us to fly to Shang Mu and convince Zao to give the Stone back."  
  
"Precisely!" General Gong nodded too, a boisterous nod at that.  
  
"Yeah, like that's gonna work!" Master called out sarcastically, "Let's just toodle on up to the madman who just stole the most powerful artefact in the known world and just ask him to return it. Pretty please?" His mocking tone did not amuse anyone, but Lilac stood forward anyway.  
  
"Let's give it a shot!"  
  
"Right then!" Torque called out, walking towards one of the planes with a good tone of uneasiness in his voice, "I assume we'll be taking one of these planes..."  
  
"Yeah..." General Gong said, "You DO know how to fly one, right?"  
  
"Of course I do, heh heh!"  
  
"Good..." the General said finally, "When you get there, head straight for the City Hall. We need to be on our way back to HQ, so we're relying on you to get this done fast."  
  
"You can count on us, General!" Lilac called out, "We'll get the Stone back before you can say 'Dinner for Three!"'  
  
"Quack!" said the duck.  
  
===============  
Some Time Later  
===============  
  
It took another five or so minutes, but soon everyone was in the plane. Torque was in front, wearing his goggles and manning the wheel. Carol was next, wielding goggles of her own. Lilac was after her, perfectly sandwiched in the middle, while Milla was stuck in the back, looking out the side like an excited little puppy. Master, on the other hand, had attached himself to the plane's tail wing.  
  
"Are you SURE you want to sit there?" Milla asked in concern, "I mean, you're not in the cockpit and you're kinda close to the exhaust!"  
  
"I'll be fine!" Master called out, "I used to do this all the time! An old friend of mine taught me how to do it! Right before he went mad...uh...Torque? Quick aside; you REALLY do know how to fly a plane, r-right? It's just that, I'm a bit...well, I'm not acrophobic, but I'm kinda...uh...I mean, come on, you can fly a spaceship!"  
  
"Flying a spaceship is easy," Torque quickly said, "Flying a more primitive plane is...less so. And landing the plane...uh..."  
  
Master gulped, a visible look terror spread across what was visible of his face. Blade sounded slightly amused;  
  
"Well, we're going to die..."  
  
=================  
A Good Hour Later  
=================  
  
Tyres squealing. Burning rubber. Brakes active. Coming to a stop. Thank Chaos. Torque's plane was finally coming to an abrupt and yet so welcome stop. Master breathed a sigh of relief, but he dared not let go of the plane. To him, there were no sights, no sounds, no wondrous views of above the see he had wanted to see since he was a little MasterSelf. Or, at least that's what he thought he wanted. To him, it was a black void the entire journey, with only the sounds of the plane's engine, the rushing air and the others voices for company. The voices spoke up again.  
  
"We're here!" came Torque's voice, a bit shaky but otherwise stable.  
  
"Man, that took a while..." Carol sighed, her voice wavering much more frequently, "Torque, how can you fly a spaceship but not a plane?"  
  
"As I said," Torque explained, "A plane is rather...primitive compared to a starship. No thrusters, no blasters, no gyros, just an engine and some clever exploitation of physics. As Blade said, your technology is strangely basic, even for Royal inventory."  
  
"I know that!" Lilac called out, her voice the exact same as it always was, "So...let's see...we've landed in Shang Mu, as planned. Best guess, we're in the public park. Just go over those hills there and we'll make it into the edges of the city centre. Then Mayor Zao's HQ will only be a short walk away."  
  
"Yay!" Milla called out, before quickly stopping, "Wait, why haven't we just landed right next to his HQ?"  
  
"Sorry kiddo, Zao isn't THAT dumb," Carol sighed, "Dude's got cannons everywhere, makes stealing from his vaults a royal pain. He's got more than enough weapons to blast us out the sky. A master of anti-air combat."  
  
"Speaking of..." Lilac said quickly. Master felt a quick poke on his nose, "Mr Master Guy? We're here! You can open your eyes now. You made it!"  
  
Master slowly opened his eyes, as instructed. The others were staring at him from the plane's cockpit. He cleared his throat and stopped gripping onto the plane, revealing the dent marks he had left during the ride, and climbed off the vehicle. His voice was slightly shaky and he himself was twitching quite a bit, but he talked anyway, "I-I knew that...I just, uh...was getting some sleep, you know?"  
  
"...Sure, Master Guy..." Lilac said, looking doubtful for a few seconds, "Hey, quick question. Have you got another name I could call you by? It's just that calling you Master'll get a little...awkward."  
  
"Well, some across the Multiverse have become accustomed to calling him 'Traveller'," Blade said, "Since, you know, that's what he does."  
  
"...Traveller..." Lilac mulled it over, before smiling, "Yeah, that's a better name!"  
  
"Better than Master, at least," Carol sighed, "Let's get going! That Kingdom Stone won't re-steal itself, you know!"  
  
"Carol's right," Torque said, adjusting his shell as he spoke, "Let's get moving!"  
  
Torque, Milla, Carol and Lilac soon ran off. Master quickly turned to Blade, a look of confusion spread across his eyes, "Traveller?"  
  
"What?" Blade retorted, "You like the name, too! It's not like you can trust your own.  _Master T. MasterSelf_ , what kind of cringe-worthy ham and cheese was that?!"  
  
"I'm sorry!" Master called out, "It was completely off the top of my head! Oh well. At least I know the story itself will still refer to me by Master. Helps keep things simple."  
  
"Please don't break the fourth wall yet, we're barely starting the third stage. Besides, that's my job. Look on the bright side, the further we get away from the Master label, the further away we get from-"  
  
"Traveller!" Carol called out, "Haul some butt, why don't you!"  
  
"...Why do people always talk over us when we discuss him?" Blade whined.  
  
"I dunno, but it's probably for the best that they DON'T know unless...he shows up. Got it?" Master said, to which Blade made a nodding motion, "Good. Let's wreck some scrubs!"  
  
"...Seriously?"  
  
Master ignored this and ran off to where the others were. The four were running quite quickly, running past the jaded green grasses that made up the edge of the city, before finally scampering over the hill to see over the boundaries of the park. The rest of Shang Mu was now in full view, and it was impossibly beautiful; deep red buildings of a wondrous design sprouted just everywhere. Bright lights illuminated every square inch of the city, the massive stature it was, and the slabbed paving under their feet was well-cut and clean. No chewing gun or spilled bananas here. In the distance were cars and lanterns, a flame-licked orange haze that brought more life into the city. Granted, a lot of it was spoiled by the smell of burning fuel and the statues of this garishly garbed midget bloke everywhere. Still, this Mayor Zao may have been a strange and stupid fellow, but what a place to rule.  
  
"Damn, son..." Blade said soulfully as Master wiped a tear from his eye, "That's one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen."  
  
"I'm with you..." Torque too had an astonished look on his face, "The culture, the atmosphere, the lighting, just the look of it all..."  
  
"Good views, huh?" Lilac teased, looking and sounding almost proud, "This place is in all the travel books. Great food, entertainment, shopping..."  
  
"So of course it's just a deathtrap underneath just like anywhere else, right?" Master sighed. Lilac nodded, "Of course."  
  
"Well, a little help from yours truly helps speed progress along. Zao is a coward, after all, but he's rich one."  
  
"...I recognise that voice!" Carol growled, teeth bared.  
  
"Yes..." Master sniffed the air, "It sounds like a certain Red Scarf! Spade! Reveal yourself!"  
  
"Gladly..." came that old sneer again. The white wolf stepped down from the ceiling of a nearby decoration and landed right in front of the group, Three-Point, both feet and left hand. Very impressive. He leaned against the nearby lamppost and crossed his arms, "You just had to follow me here, didn't you?"  
  
"How did you know we were coming?" Carol asked.  
  
"You seemed pretty determined to get that Stone of yours back," Spade shrugged, "It's like I'm staring at a couple of books over here."  
  
"So you're the thief that Lilac was talking about!" Torque said, his voice angered and almost insulted.  
  
"I've been called worse..." another shrug and another smug grin from Spade.  
  
"Where is it?!" Lilac demanded, arching forward into a combat pose.  
  
"Don't bother. I've already finished the job. It's time for my brother to play his hand."  
  
"Brother?" Torque asked.  
  
"Prince Dail of Shuigang," Lilac quickly explained, "Same father for a king, but different mothers."  
  
"Really?!" Torque called out, sounding quite impressed.  
  
Master assumed a combat stance, digging out his handgun, "Royal Blood, eh? In that case, why are you leading a group of glorified murderers? Why not just rub your money into the faces of the masses like everyone else?"  
  
"Because I have no intentions to rule that little kingdom," Spade spat back, seemingly disgusted by the question, "I'd rather kill for my fellows than be just another crazy royal leader for some over-his-head vigilante like yourself to kill. For the greater good, as you say. I get the impression you've seen a lot of my brother's kind over the years. When he finds the man who murdered our father, there will be no mercy for the kingdom responsible."  
  
"We know who's responsible!" Lilac called out. Spade grumbled.  
  
"Nice try."  
  
"Will you just hold on for a minute and let us explain?!" Carol seethed, "Or are we gonna have to beat some sense into you?"  
  
"No thanks!" Spade growled, grabbing his exploding cards from before, "I won't be thrown off with your lies again! You made a grave mistake betraying my group the last time around."  
  
"Look, let's not go through this again!" Master called out, "For the final time, just calm down and let us explain ourselves. There's no need for this pointless shouting and fighting."  
  
"Perhaps..." Spade said, "But I have no time for you. You're a hanger-on, that's all you are. But... a hanger-on with the skills of a warrior. Perhaps when this is all done, you could join my Red Scarves. You've already got the initials down. The clothing and the murderous gleam in your eye..."  
  
"Shove it!!" Master growled, "I'm not some greedy killer! Not anymore!"  
  
"Wait...anymore?" Lilac quietly mumbled.  
  
Master's grip on his gun tightened and he raised it up to full height. Before he could get a shot off, however, some bright light came screaming out the sky towards the heroes. It struck the ground in front of them, baring through the pristine rock like one would put a knife through a meringue. Everyone jumped back, the heroes landing in a crumpled heap, while Spade lurched backwards and then dashed away, leaving only a faint green image of himself in his place. Torque was the first out of the pile and soon looked up at the laser's origin. It was a large, domed flying machine, held aloft by four rotating rockets revolving around a ring mounted in the middle of the machine. The laser was still emitting and slowly moving towards the group.  
  
"It's Serpentine!" Torque called out, "Looks like Brevon's found as after all! Everyone split up! We'll meet up by the mall, it's right next to Zao's HQ!"  
  
"Got it!" Lilac called out, "Carol, Milla, go around the left! Master, Torque, do the same with the right! I'll go straight on!"  
  
The others nodded and soon began to book it into the distance, to look over and race though the slowly shredded beauty of Shang Mu.  
  
===================  
Three Minutes Later  
===================  
  
Milla was scared, there was no denying that. But she knew she had to press on. For Lilac and Carol and certainly Torque. She was always one in the past for simply lounging around and watching from a distance, playing with whatever was in the sewers of Shang Tu, keeping the monstrous creatures and robots at bay. Not anymore though. She had to take action against this...whatever it was. Granted, it's not like she was at that strange meeting all the way through, but she had a good idea of what was going on regardless; this madman called Lord Brevon was killing his way across the galaxy and the Kingdom Stone was to be kept out of his claws at every possible opportunity. Simple. Sort of.  
  
Milla took careful notice at the three at the meeting; Lilac was sitting on a red toolbox, sitting silently, taking in all the details with no change of facial expression. Carol was sat on an identical red toolbox next to her, looks of worry and content splashed at random across her face. And finally was Master, hunched over a table in the strangest possible position. He almost never looked Torque in the eye, just staring down at the floor in silent and haunted contemplation. Perhaps he thought this was nothing to him? If this Brevon was any worse than those old mean Shang Mu soldiers...  
  
Milla stopped, stifling a quick yelp as a sudden laser almost caught her jacket. It certainly LOOKED like Brevon was going to be worse than those Shang Tu people, as his robots were EVERYWHERE. Then again, Milla had heard from what little gossip she could catch from sewer workers that Mayor Zao was rich enough to employ smart engineers to design robots for him. And it wasn't like she couldn't disagree with them; she had seen the robotic claws attached to the base of the truck within the Temple yesterday. It's kind of why she followed it to Carol and that Master/Traveller guy anyway. The robot above her looked like some kind of traffic light, with three eyes that were even now firing lasers at Milla. She dodged to the left, skidding onto the grass as she did, before leaping up and grabbing the robot in question, throwing it head-first towards another enemy that was shaped like sort of fireworks dispenser rebuilt for combat. Both exploded in a fireball, flinging bright red fireworks into the air. They exploded soon, sending a crackling sound throughout the sky. The robots elsewhere in the city HAD to have seen that, which Milla took as a blessing and ran off towards the mall as planned.  
  
These robots were dangerous, no doubt about that, but luckily for Milla she had a secret up her sleeve. For as long as she could remember, she was able to interact with the invisible energies around her, manipulate them towards the creation of what could only be described as blocks of pure energy. As Milla ran, she could see more robots on the horizon, so it was time for another one of those blocks. Hands held above her head, Milla concentrated and felt the familiar and comforting sensation of the air above her changing, swirling, forming. Soon, a bright green cube materialised into her hands and she threw it with perfect accuracy. The heavy block sailed through the air with all the grace a block of energy can and smashed sidefirst into the the tank-like robot. The robot exploded, sending its singled-eye pilot flying off into the distance. Satisfied, Milla dashed forward and placed both hands before her. At the final moment, a green shield suddenly swooped into reality and slammed into another traffic light robot, causing its demise and the parts of it spilling onto the other robot, destroying that one too. Happy, Milla grinned and ran off, stumbling along on all four limbs and flying through the city as much as possible. Every now and again came a few sets of lanterns that bended upwards and connecting to the odd part of the city's decorational architecture, which Milla would follow up and around the arches until she finally hit street level.  
  
At street level, Milla soon came across some kind of small shopping area, lined with buildings and more of these pretty floating lanterns. Their dotted locations blared out a rich yellow light on the scenery and doubtlessly enriched the experience for late-night shoppers. Milla looked to the right and noticed Lilac just standing around, catching her breath. She was quite footsore and was mildly wounded, with more of those red leaves wrapped around her arms and legs as a sort of makeshift bandage. Milla had encountered little of those leaves in the past; in fact, the only time she ever came close to them was when some bigshot's attempt to synthesize the leaves' medical abilities into a drink form failed and his company dumped the entire lot into the sewers. Guess that explained that giant fish monster she had to fight before she even got to the temple.  
  
Milla quickly approached Lilac, calling out, "Lilac! I'm over here!" all the while.  
  
Lilac looked up and grinned, "Milla! How're you holding up?"  
  
"I'm fine..." Milla said, screeching to a halt just beside the dragon, "It's taken a while, but I'm here!"  
  
"Me too. Those bots Brevon and Zao are employing hit hard, don't they? Good thing I had enough of those red leaves to knock even General Gong out. Are you hurt?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Good..." Lilac sighed. She quickly looked around before turning back to Milla, "We have to keep moving, Milla. Zao's HQ is just across this mall. We can check it out later, but for now we have to move. Right? Okay, let's mo-"  
  
"Hold it right there, you sparkly twit!"  
  
Milla gasped quickly in response and spun around fast enough to catch even Lilac off guard. Behind them was a snake in power armour and a helmet, pointing some kind of laser pistol at them. Lilac studied the creature, and it was indeed Serpentine from before. His hands were wrapped in fresh bandages and his laser guns were new and bigger, baring bright blue glows within the barrels. Lilac looked shocked for a short while, but then something seemed to click within her and her mood worsened.  
  
"Wait...what did you just call me?!"  
  
"Mindless creatures..." Serpentine growled, holding his gaze as steady as his guns, "You think you can just walk into this conflict, don't you? Well, I have news for you; this isn't your fight!"  
  
Lilac quickly went on the offensive, "It was the moment you brought it to our homeworld!"  
  
"Y-Yeah!" Milla blurted out, looking quite scared, "What she said!"  
  
"So,..the duck man couldn't keep his mouth shut..." Serpentine growled. He advanced, both guns pointed forwards and a devilish grin across his face, "Well, I hope he realises that he just cost you your life! When I drag you before Lord Brevon, you will beg for your life before the end of the hour! Prepare for combat!"  
  
"Lilac..." Milla whimpered, "Maybe we should run..."  
  
"Relax..." Lilac said in a relaxed tone, "This Snake Man is a joke. Just gotta blast his hands and we should be fi-"  
  
She stopped, a laser bolt to the shin sending her crashing to the ground. She snapped out a pained yelp before getting up and looking at Serpentine. He had both guns drawn and was firing rapidly, pelting the area with a hailstorm of blue and purple lights that exploded on contact with the ground. Lilac shielded her eyes, awaiting the stinging pain of the blaster bolts, but a sudden warbling sound and sensation stopped her. Milla had jumped in front of her and, groaning with the strain, had formed a shield directly in front of the two upon which the lasers and bolts just bounced off. One of them even collided with Serpentine's tail and caused him to let his guard down in an attempt to fan out the opening flames. Lilac marvelled at this obscenely good fortune and charged forward, leaving Milla to catch her breath. The hound fell onto her backside and the shield ceased, causing a ripple to send a spike of green energy towards the snake. It struck him again in the chest and caused him to stumble, allowing Lilac to rush in and swipe her hand towards the creature's side.   
  
The attack hit and the young dragon followed up with an uppercut that lead into a shoulder grab, hoisting her above the snake. Then, in the air she delivered a swift kick that managed to hit Serpentine right in the chest, flooring both fighters. Serpentine was up first and slithered over to the floored Lilac, giving a quick smack with his guns that dragged her up and onto her feet. She threw more kicks into his general direction, which Serpentine managed to dodge or block with minimal effort, before wrapping his tail around Lilac's legs and tripping her up. He moved in to strike the girl while she was falling, but she quickly dodged out of the second tail swipe and quickly grabbed one of her two tendrils. With the long tendril in hand she swiped it diagonally across the snake, spinning the whipped snake around to be struck again with a kick to the back. The snake got back up and lunged forward with his guns. Lilac, in a fit of impressive reflexes, grabbed the snake's right gun and pushed it away, sending the incoming chuck of metal zooming past her head. The weapon fired, sending a light blue bolt of energy into nothing in particular, while Lilac's ear began to scream in agony just as much as she was. She staggered, half-deaf and head ringing like crazy, while Serpentine followed up with a whipping notion from his own tail that sent Lilac tumbling onto her back.  
  
Then, just as Serpentine went in for the kill, a block of green energy smacked into him, sending him off balance. Lilac looked up to see Milla running towards them, holding another block in her hands, "Lilac! Get him into the air!"   
  
Lilac complied and quickly grabbed the stumbled snake, sending a powerful kick right into his backside and propelling him into the air. Then, as he began his descent, Milla springboared off Lilac's head and thrust the cube in front of her. It narrowed, then moaned with a deafening noise, before letting loose what could only be described as a giant green laser. The snake, caught point blank in this devastating beam, was pushed screaming into the pavement, creating a crater as he laid to rest. The beam ceased and Milla landed with a panted and pained gasp next to Lilac. Serpentine, stuck in the crater, was unconscious.  
  
"...Darn, Milla..." Lilac panted, arched over in pain, "What WAS that?"  
  
"...I don't know..." Milla panted too, "I've been able to do that since I was a child. I've been practising it in the sewers for years."  
  
"Well..." Lilac grinned, tussling the hound's wild hair, "Look who's little miss badbutt, huh?"  
  
"Thank you!" Milla giggled, "But, shouldn't we get going?"  
  
"No need!" came another voice from high up in the air. It was Carol's voice, mixed in with some heavy wind sounds. Both girls looked up to see Torque's plane, its yellow paintjob scraped away a little, with Torque at the helm and Carol in the co-pilot's seat. Sitting behind her was Master, damaged and wounded but seemingly quite content.  
  
"Carol?" Lilac asked in astonishment, "Where did you come from?"  
  
"It's all Traveller's fault, as usual," Carol said in a bizarrely endearing way, "He ran back to the plane and managed to activate this kinda 'auto-pilot' to fly the plane with no troubles at all. Said he didn't want to fight his way through the mall and risk running into the snake again, so he picked us up on the way!"  
  
"What do you mean 'auto-pilot'?" Lilac asked.  
  
"Well..." Master looked a bit sheepish, "Let's just say there's a large, sort of Blade shaped hole in the dashboard now."  
  
"Seriously?" Lilac called out in fatigue, "That thing can fly planes, too?"  
  
"Not really!" came Blade's voice from some invisible part of the plane, "I'm less of an auto-pilot and more of a co-pilot for the Little Green Man here! I'll help him set this junker down to pick you guys up!"  
  
It shuddered wildly, but the plane eventually landed with a clang, The plane's passengers clambered out to get close to Lilac and Milla, with an unearthly shunting as Master dragged Blade out of the dashboard.  
  
"You two look kind of out of shape," Torque said, "What got you guys?"  
  
"That snake guy from the start of this adventure..." Lilac sighed, rubbing her stinging horn, "He got in our way, threatened to kill us, called me a sparkly twit. So we had to do battle and take him down. S'when I learnt that Milla here is a superdog."  
  
"Superdog?" Carol asked, "How so?"  
  
"Well, if I hold my hands above my head and concentrate REALLY hard..." Milla said, putting her hands above her head, "I can make these block thingies out of thin air. Watch!" she went silent and the air above her hummed with energy. Two small orbs formed and quickly spiralled around each other, before finally combining and expanding to form a giant green cube.  
  
"Wow..." Torque said, sounding quite impressed, "Never seen something like THAT before..."  
  
"I have..." Blade said, "Looks like Milla here is a Sira."  
  
"A Sira?" Carol asked.  
  
"Some kind of folklore creature," Lilac explained, "I've read about it at the Shang Tu Library. Every now and then, a being is born with extraordinary, incredibly destructive powers. There can only be about four of them alive at any one point, but a lot of them were abandoned at birth because their powerful abilities were seen as bad omens."  
  
"No wonder the poor kid spent her life in the sewers..." Blade tutted.  
  
"Wha?" Milla went white with shock, "How did you know that?"  
  
"Snatch a couple of records from that General Gong fellow and you can see just about anything from their security feed," Master shrugged.  
  
"There's more, too," Lilac said, "These powers are...well, powerful. So much so, in fact that they actually hamper the Sira's physical state. Not in any real noticeably visible way, but they tend to be more...fragile."  
  
"Well..." Milla admitted, "I do tend to lose my breath and get hurt easily."  
  
"Nothing a bit of proper training can't fix," Master said, "Just have to find the Mayor and take back the...Kingdom Stone."  
  
"Yeah, we sorta forgot about that," Carol looked sheepish, "Sorry, Torque."  
  
"It's fine," Torque sighed, "We're close. Just go through the mall and-"  
  
"Not so fast, Commander!" came a hissing scream. The group turned around to see Serpentine once again. He had dragged himself out of the crater and, a look of anger that would scare the devil himself spread across his face, was now aiming both lasers at the group. Master had instantly stood in front of the three girls as a sort of shield and Torque was inching towards his own blaster. The snake spoke again, "If you're searching for the stone, you might wanna look up!"  
  
The group indeed looked into the distance. To their horror, a bunch of green, wooden airships were screaming their way through the skies. Small black sphere were falling out of cannons and smashing into the city with terrifying accuracy and speed, leaving explosions and violent fires in its wake. The group looked over it in abject horror as Shang Mu erupted into flames, silent and unmoving. Master snapped out of his shocked state and dashed towards Serpentine, holding him in a choke hold with one hand and jabbed his gun against the snake's head with the other.  
  
"What did you just do?!" he bellowed, "How many lives have you just taken?!"  
  
"Quite a few..." Serpentine hissed, a smug grin across his face, "Say hello to the Sky Battalion! Biggest and most powerful air-army on the planet! The Kingdom Stone is now in the care of Lord Brevon, and unless you can somehow scrape enough firepower from these idiots to take on fifteen whole airships of power, you'll never get it back before we're all set to leave! Enjoy your victory!" Serpentine suddenly wrenched his hands away from Master's arm and punched him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and sending him to a crumpled heap. There was a sudden, loud rumbling sound that filled the area; windows shattered and gusts of smoke bellowed into the air as one of the airships in question soon came down upon the heroes. It was huge, almost the size of the Temple from before, with green sails and cannons jutting out of every possible part of it. It's wooden construction betrayed its massive plasma jet engines and the wood itself was decorated with the image giant green flames screeching across the side of the ship. Serpentine guffawed for a final time and then took off, grabbing a rung installed onto the bottom of the ship and soon clambering up to the deck. The ship then lifted, zooming right over the heads of Lilac and Torque, and was soon blazing into the sky. An enraged Lilac briefly followed it through the sky, Dragon Boosting straight into it, but alas could only bounce off the fortified wood and crash back to the ground. Master himself got up and rapidly pumped all ten of his magnum rounds into the ships, a few hitting the engine but otherwise causing little damage. He screamed in rage and frustration before collapsing back to the ground, clutching his stomach.  
  
"No!" Torque called out, "We almost had him!"  
  
"I guess that's what Spade was referring to when he was talking about his brother..." Carol said, her voice wavering, "The Sky Battalion is the largest military instalment on Planet Avalice and in the strict ownership of the kingdom of Shuigang!"  
  
"Then I guess that's where Brevon's set up his base of operations..." Blade sighed, trying to force Master off of the floor, "Probably killed the king and taken his young boy to be his little puppy."  
  
"...What're we gonna do now?" Milla asked frightfully after a short and uneasy pause.  
  
"What else?" Carol rushed forward, "We've gotta go after them!"  
  
"Those airships would ghost us from a mile away..." Torque said, looking to the floor in defeat, "Remember what happened to me in the valley?"  
  
"There has to be another way..." Lilac said, quickly and hastily contemplating, "Look, we need something that's even a third of their power level...what about Mayor Zao?"  
  
"It's gone!" came another scream. Once more the group looked behind them, seeing some vehicle driving up towards them. It was the same truck from the Temple ambush, only now with makeshift repairs littering its body and with no real driver behind the wheel. It was also only the truck itself with no carriages to speak of, leaving only two guards and some short guy. Master soon came to the realisation he was the one he had mocked in statue form only seven minutes ago, and he looked no more impressive in real life; as stated before he was short, barely the height of Milla, and was clad in a red regal outfit with a huge domed hat jammed on his head. To the Avaloians, he may have looked decent, but to Master he just looked like some kid. Behind him was a large chuck of yellow metal, roughly in the shape of a panther, with Master knowing he had saw it before.  
  
The being screamed again, his voice wavering and blatantly immature, "My one chance for re-election is gone!" He stopped and sighed, rubbing his watering eyes. He began to look around to see if anyone had saw him, and it wasn't long before his eyes clasped onto the heroes. His expression shifted almost instantly, from weeping and furious, as the truck slowly reversed to the point that the others were standing. The small man then dragged himself to his feet and assumed a more powerful pose, "You! Over there!"  
  
"Mayor of Shang Mu!" Lilac quickly called out, throwing herself to the floor, "Salute!"  
  
Torque and Milla also knelt on hands and knees, heads arched low and respectfully, while Carol and Master were still standing upright. Master, his mood not softened by Serpentine's punch to his still open stomach wound, saluted in a different manner by throwing his left hand forward with only the index and middle fingers extended.  
  
"Up yours, home boy!" came his grumbled reply.  
  
"How DARE you?!" came the short man's response, his body flying into a barrage of kicks and punches in the air, "No man insults the Mayor and gets away with it!"  
  
"Mayor?" Master called out in disbelief, "How're you the Mayor? The one I've heard about is a large, bold leader with his hand in all the right bowls. All I'm seeing is some garishly garbed midget bloke!"  
  
"Uh, Slugger, quick word..." Blade said quickly and nervously, "Uh, I've been doing some background checks and it turns out that this garishly garbed midget bloke IS the Mayor of Shang Mu..." He took a second for the inevitable look of shock to appear on Master's face, a small mumbling stammer escaping his throat, as Blade resumed with a more gravelly and irritated tone, "You better bow, bozo!"  
  
"OH!" Master yelped in response and threw himself to the ground just as hard as the others, a slight mumble of, "Your-Your Excellency..." escaping. Carol bowed too, taking the time to subtly do some pushups while doing so.  
  
Nevertheless, Mayor Zao looked satisfied with the results and posed again, "Thank you. Now...RISE!"  
  
They did, all five standing up on their own accord, and Mayor Zao walked back to the chunk of yellow scrap, "Were you the ones who disposed of this wretched mechanical beast?"  
  
"...I dunno..." Lilac said uneasily, eyeing the scrap, "What even IS that thing?"  
  
"I think it's called a RoboPanther..." Master mused, "Think it might've belonged to Serpentine. It had his name scratched into the key, after all."  
  
"Wait, you destroyed this?" Milla asked, "When?"  
  
"Traveller insisted we take a few laps of the city to find you," Carol explained, "We got past the Mall and managed to stop. Someone had disabled the lasers in the Mayor's palace. And the thing was there and it obviously belonged to Brevon, so Traveller suggested we pre-emptively destroy it."  
  
"It took a while, too," Master grumbled, "That was a three person job and it STILL took us five minutes! But yeah, we destroyed it. 'S that bad?"  
  
"Bad?" Mayor Zao said incredulously, jumping into the air and spreading confetti everywhere, "IT's GLORIOUS!" There was a sudden loud jingle as some bright letters somehow materliased over his head. Master quickly shouted in shock, but quickly calmed down and read the words; ' **+5 GLORY** '. Mayor Zao landed on the floor and continued, "As a token of my appreciation, I offer each of you free reign over Zao's Shopping Paradise!"  
  
"Sounds great!" Master said with an odd sort of glee, "I don't suppose you have a cake shop in there? Where they make, like, large red velvet cakes?"  
  
"I do indeed!" Mayor Zao gloated, "I think they're the size of your average truck tyre too!"  
  
"ROCK and ROLL!" Master shouted in a sort of odd victory, "I'll see you guys in the Spring!"  
  
"Wait!" Lilac called out, grabbing Master by his scarf and dragging him back to the group, "We can't get distracted. We're here for something of yours."  
  
"Are you?" Mayor Zao asked. There was a noticeable shift in his tone by this point, from all miserable and serious to jovial and genuinely friendly. It was still obvious a great deal of that was a ruse, but it still helped him be seen as more likeable among his people, "Well, we can talk about it over dinner. My treat, of course."  
  
"You mean...a ROYAL FEAST?!" Milla squealed with excitement.  
  
"Well, I am kinda hungry..." Carol mused.  
  
"Yeah, me too..." Torque said, thinking of all the kind of foods he could taste and he smiled accordingly. He suddenly stopped, almost as if a record had scratched to a halt in his head, "Wait! What about the Kingdom Stone!"  
  
"Hmm...I knew the item of question would be that..." Mayor Zao growled, his voice returning to the bitter tone it once was, "That scoundrel Prince took it from me! I won't even be able to chase him until my ships are repaired!"  
  
The group of heroes looked among themselves in silent conversation, talking using silent words, before Lilac bowed and said, "Well, Mayor Zao, we would be honoured to be your guests this evening."  
  
"Indeed..." Master said too, bowing alongside Lilac and putting on a posh voice, "It would be the greatest of positive contributions for this fine night of ours."  
  
Mayor Zao's grin returned, "Well then, please walk this way! I shall drown your sorrows in delicious chow mein!"  
  
===============================  
A Good Five or So Minutes Later  
===============================  
  
It took another five or so minutes to reach the Mayor's dining quarters, but at least it gave Lilac and Master time to heal their wounds and rest. They soon stopped outside the area, lead by the Mayor himself into his dining area. It, as expected of someone of his position, was huge and dangerously ornate. Almost every decoration was red; the banners were red, the tablecloth was red, even the plates and napkins were red. A giant brass dragon's head overlooked the group as they entered and took their seats; Lilac, Carol and Milla sitting at one end of the table with Torque, Master and Mayor Zao at the other end. A number of red robots scuttled their way across the floor, holding plates in their clamped hands.  
  
"Well, this is a bit of alright," Master mused, "A multiverse vigilante could get used to this!"  
  
"I trust this doesn't happen to you a lot, then..." Torque mused alongside him.  
  
Master sighed, "It's like visiting other countries, Torque. Each has their own little quirks, and a lot of the time they tend to screw you over, since you're out of the program and all. Some universes I've been granted a free meal, other times I've paid for them using credits, other times still I've had to steal food. There's a reason I've been named 'The Guy Who Keeps Passing Through'."  
  
"Hmm. I see."  
  
"Don't worry about taking turns!" came Mayor Zao's voice again, "I'm sure you must be hungry, so have at it!"  
  
The robots scooted along, depositing plates at everyone's positions. Almost everyone began to sport wild grins on their faces. On the plates now were globs of rice coated in all manner of fish-related foodstuffs. Sushi. The nectar of the finest Gods and Elder Masters.  
  
"SUSHI!" was the squeal of the hour, coming directly from Lilac, Carol and Milla. All three began to dig in non-stop into their sushi, devouring it as fast as the robots could replenish their supply. In the middle of this gluttonous frenzy came the voice of Milla, happily saying, "I love Sushi!"  
  
"Me too!" Carol called out.  
  
"Woah..." Lilac said, her shocked face causing some half-chewed sushi to come tumbling out of her mouth, "You BOTH like something?! Is this, like, the end of the world?"  
  
Master, sitting on the other side of the table, could only watch them laugh and resume eating, groaning in misery as he did so. He had not touched his own sushi yet, merely poking at it with a chopstick.  
  
"What's the matter, Mr....er..." Mayor Zao stopped, fumbling over his own words, "Sorry, but I didn't get your name."  
  
"The name's Ma-" Master began, but stopped, "Uh...ahem, Traveller."  
  
"Traveller, huh?" Mayor Zao looked a bit miffed, "What kind of parent names their kid Traveller?"  
  
Master sighed a painful sigh.  
  
"...Sorry. Uh, do you not like sushi?"  
  
"Wha?" Master babbled, "Oh no, I love the stuff. It's just, uh...my scarf."  
  
"Well, less the scarf and more what's under it," Blade said too.  
  
"Oh, don't be like those teetotalling People Against Cruelty to Fish Types! Come on, just remove it and dig in!"  
  
"...Fine..." Master sighed. He grabbed his scarf and removed it, resting it around his shoulders and neck. Both Torque and Mayor Zao looked on in mild horror, for on Master's muzzle was a rather heavy wound. His muzzle had, for lack of a better word, split from cheek to cheek. A large gash spread across his face, stopping at his mouth before starting again soon after, lined with haphazard stitching along the gash to keep it closed. It looked repulsive. Master sighed and spoke to the two bulge-eyed ghosts, his voice now clearer to boot, "Yes. At least you know why I keep my scarf on. Do you want me to move?"  
  
"No, no!" Mayor Zao blurted out hastily, "It's fine. Just...enjoy your food."  
  
Master nodded, tucking into the sushi and enjoying it just as much as everyone else. Torque looked a bit ill, seeing the stitches move as Master chewed, and spoke to Mayor Zao instead, "So, what's that giant head on the wall over there?"  
  
"That's the pride of my Collection!" Mayor Zao boasted, all too eager to strike up a conversation, "An ancient statue modelled after the Dragons of the Before Time!"  
  
"What's special about them?" Torque asked, quickly shifting his gaze to the still gorging Lilac, "Y'know, compared to someone like Lilac?"  
  
"What's special?!" Mayor Zao cried in disbelief, "Did you come from another planet or something?"  
  
"I kinda thought you did," Master said quietly. This still caught the attention of the Mayor, though, so he mumbled a half-hearted, "Sorry..." and resumed eating.  
  
Mayor Zao decided to take pity on the Shellduck and began to spin a tale, "Long ago, a majestic creature soared across Avalice in a great ball of flame. When it landed, our ancestors were so captivated by its power and beauty that they built three kingdoms in its honour; Shang Tu, Shang Mu and Shuigang."  
  
"Sheesh, that's one hell of a welcoming gift!" Blade snarked, "All we get at best is a bottle of champagne!"  
  
"When the cities were built," Mayor Zao continued, "The dragon transformed into the legendary Kingdom Stone we know and love today!"  
  
"Yes, a stone you loved so much," Master pointed accusingly, "You took it from its natural resting place. Why?"  
  
"...Look..." Mayor Zao began, looking a bit embarrassed, "Shang Mu is on the brink of an energy crisis. With the Stone in our hands, we could've solved it overnight!"  
  
"And it never occurred to you to use solar power?" Carol snarked, "What about water power? Your city is right next to an river, after all! Your own plan worked out SO well..."  
  
"I don't think this energy crisis of yours is really all that much of an accident," Torque spoke next, "I think it's deliberate, and I think we know who's responsible."  
  
Mayor Zao looked intrigued, leaning forward and looking Torque square in the eye; "Continue..."


	6. Airship Attack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DeviantART Link: https://masterperrymartin.deviantart.com/art/Freedom-Dies-With-Me-CHAPTER-5-556103973

=====================  
Meanwhile, at Shuigang Palace  
=====================  
  
This time again, huh? Good. Lord Brevon always loved this part, where the hero failed and he was allowed to sink his poisoned blade deep into their jugular veins. To see them squirm and gargle their last before him...it was music to his ears. This particular one was another panda, one from a roving pack of vigilantes that roamed the land. Obsessed with honor and justice and all that meaningless tat that people spewed to get the higher ground. Brevon thought that at least he could physically prove his superiority. The vigilantes had been defeated and taken off to the torture chambers, helmets lying disgracefully in the dust, with only a single one left to deal with. He was heavily wounded, leaning on his spear like a crutch and doubled over in pain.  
  
" _Don't bore me with your lectures..._ " Brevon growled, " _I've heard them a thousand times from a thousand self-righteous warriors! Unless you have something useful to say, the only thing that matters to me is how quickly I can cast you aside. I really have a lot of work to do._ "  
  
The panda coughed, trying to hoist himself to his feet in a brave but ultimately futile move, "You'll fail...men like you will always fail..."  
  
Brevon gave him no more time, the bloodlust clawing away at him too much to bear. He dashed forward and grabbed the being, choking him with his off hand. Finally, he drew his bloodied weapon and plunged it directly into the guy's chest. He gasped and screamed in agony, to which Brevon grabbed his head and forced him to look at the warmonger in the eyes until, finally, they went out and his body went limp. Brevon removed his blade and threw the corpse to the ground, " _Hmm...Interesting theory. But still very much wrong._ "  
  
"HELLO SIR," came the unmistakable voice of Syntax. Since the time she had been...used by the cloaked person, Brevon had managed to fix it up again, even adding in the ability for this being to access its hologram abilities. Just in case. The robot spoke up again, "HAVE YOU BEHEADED THE INTRUDERS YET? FOR THERE IS AN INCOMING TRANSMISSION FROM GENERAL SERPENTINE."  
  
Syntax backed up a bit, its eye once again glowing and showering a nearby area in a greenish light. In it was a hologram of Serpentine himself, holding a dark blue orb in his robotic mits. He laughed evilly, hissing out, "The full moon is out! Not a cloud in the sky!"  
  
Lord Brevon was impressed. Suffice to say he had not taken the last news from him well, but refrained from torturing him; his work was still going to suffer if he did that work with the odd gaping wound. Instead he simply bellowed, " _Don't relax just yet! Upload the scans and get back here immediately!_ "  
  
"Yes, my Lord!"  
  
And with that, the snake bowed and soon vanished. The hologram ceased too, leaving only Brevon and Syntax. Brevon was quick to speak, " _Contact the crash site and tell them to refit our warp drive. I want the artefact to fit like a glove!_ "  
  
"AS YOU WISH SIR..." Syantax trailed off, "...OH. IT APPEARS THE BEING FROM EARLIER IS TRYING TO CONTACT YOU ONCE MORE. SHALL I ALLOW HIM?"  
  
" _Hmm..._ " Brevon said, before standing back, " _I suppose. Put him through._ "  
  
Syntax obeyed and another flood of light swooped through its eye. The signal focused and, once more, was the shrouded man in the black cloak.  
  
" _What do you want?_ " Brevon asked bluntly.  
  
" **Well, I just wanted to congratulate you,** " the being said in its ever-strange voice, " **I hear a certain someone is now the owner of a brand new, shiny super rock! Heh heh...grats.** "  
  
" _What is it to you?_ " Brevon asked again.  
  
" **It just proves you need me,** " the cloaked figure grinned, baring his sharp teeth again, " **I helped Serpentine with distracting that Lilac brat, didn't I? Set up the RoboPanther as a decoy for my own target and that's just enough confusion for me sneak in and grab that wretched Stone.** "  
  
" _I will admit,_ " Brevon sighed, looking disgruntled, " _Your methods are too subtle for my tastes, but they work. I can only hope you have more effective methods up your voluminous sleeves._ "  
  
" **Abandon that hope, Arktivus,** " the creature growled, " **Lilac knows about you now, and trust me; it won't be long until she comes gunning for you personally. But don't worry. She'll be coming alone.** "  
  
" _...How do you even know this data?_ " Brevon asked, pointing an accusing finger at the hologram, " _There is no possible way for you to know of these events!_ "  
  
" **A shame. I can see a lot more than others. Almost like I know exactly what's gonna happen in this crazy little game of ours. Well, sort of. My range is...limited,** " the being shrugged, " **I'm getting  old and weak, after all. Can't all be massive Gary-Stus like you, can we?** "  
  
" _Then answer me this,_ " Brevon said boastfully, " _What has just happened with them and what will happen next?_ "  
  
The figure looked serious, even with his hidden face, " **The group are currently earning the trust of this egomaniac called Mayor Zao. They're just about to embark on an airship back to Shang Tu. So if you have any sense you'll send in the Sky Battalion and paste 'em. Otherwise, much like that man over there said, you'll fail. Because of THEM.** "  
  
" _Lord Brevon will not fail to some braindead kids!_ " Lord Brevon bellowed, insulted, " _How DARE you even suggest I will die such a disgraceful death by some random fool who thinks she's the hero!_ "  
  
" **...Think you're invincible, huh?** " the figure grumbled, his mangled voice thick with disgust, " **...Watch your back in the future, Brevon. You never know who might stab you in it...** "  
  
The hologram ceased and Syntax was still hovering in place, "THE FIGURE APPEARS TO BELEIEVE YOU ARE NOT INVINCIBLE, LORD BREVON."  
  
" _He's a fool, then!_ " Brevon continued his bellowing, " _Regardless, he is the only vague way we can know where that wretched Chaser will be. We have the Stone, so now all we need to do is charge our batteries and get off this planet. Then we'll let it have it! Nuke every last settlement and use the power of the Kingdom Stone to take over the entire universe!_ "  
  
"WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, MASTER BREVON, THAT SOUNDS LIKE A BIT OF A STRETCH."  
  
" _...A bit of a stretch..._ " Lord Brevon said in a disgusted tone, " _I knew that cloaked fellow was too good at what he does. Just go and get the warp drive ready. NOW!_ " Sytnax agreed and flew off to reach the crash site. Brevon, angry and annoyed, stomped his way out of the room once more;   
  
" _We're getting off this rock, even if it kills me!_ "  
  
============  
Back in Shang Mu  
============  
  
It was Carol first to exit the dining room, a slow plodding caricature of what she ususally was. She had forgotten just how much sushi she had devoured over the past couple hours, but it must've been about 25 servings. Not enough, she dared to think. She waddled over to the wooden seats placed just outside the hall and then collapsed into it. As she took deep, hearty breaths to stave off the sickness, the others soon followed suit. First was Milla, who took had eaten quite a lot of sushi, and as such was being carried by an as-ever stoic Master. Milla's face, while still happy and shiny, was showing signs of being twisted into one of sickness too, while Master kept that almost-miffed look on his face he always had. He and Torque, while happily feasting on the sushi just as much as the others, had not eaten as much and as such were forced to help the more bloated members out of the room and into the outside air. Torque was followed by Mayor Zao, who was as ever small and smug. For while the girls and Master had been chowing on the sushi, he and Mayor Zao had been talking about the power problems and what could be done. It soon ended with Torque suggesting a truce, to which a few select others agreed. Sadly, Mayor Zao was not among those people,  
  
"An allliance with Shang Tu?" Mayor Zao began, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "What a lovely idea! ’Oh hey Majister! Sorry about ambushing your soldiers, stealing your priceless artefacts, shooting up your ancient temple and managing to lose it to a bunch of insects! Let's go frolicking in the woods together with our makeup and frilly dresses!"  
  
Another sudden jingle ruptured the air and some more words appeared over Mayor Zao's head. The words this read, '+5 SARCASM'. Master jumped again, nearly dropping Milla in the process, but steadied himself.  
  
He sighed wearily, "You know, in the universe I'm currently staying in, that would actually be seen as a good idea."  
  
"Your Excellency, we're a neutral party," Lilac said dutifully, "Sent by the other party in-fact. Send us to speak on your behalf."  
  
"No offence, but...how will THAT work?" the Mayor asked, "If he won't listen to the greatest ruler in all of Avalice, why would he listen to a bunch of kids?"  
  
"Oh, I'm sure we can talk them into it," Master said again, setting Milla down, "As long as we with reason and persuasion."  
  
"What do you mean?" Carol asked from the bench.  
  
"Well, to put it another way..." Master grinned under his scarf, motioning to Blade, "Here's reason..." and then fished out his handgun and held it in his other hand, "And here's persuasion."  
  
"Had to ask, didn't I?" Carol sighed.  
  
"Aw, come on!" Milla, looking a little down, before scooting over to the Mayor and looking up to him with her puppy-dog eyes, "Pretty please?"  
  
The Mayor's face seemed to radically shift from stoic to overly excited, as if Milla had set him into some odd 'cute trance'. Lilac seized this moment and quickly walked to his side, wrapping one arm around his back and flinging another into the air, "Just imagine how much people are going to love you for uniting the three kingdoms against a common enemy! You'll be a hero!"  
  
"Me...a War Hero?" Mayor Zao grinned, the stars in his eyes elevating to a pristine sheen slathered across his face, "Now that you mention it...I COULD use a few extra hands...ah what the heck? It's worth a shot!"  
  
The group jumped for joy, except for Master naturally, and crowded around the Mayor, with Lilac in front, "Thank you, Your Excellency!"  
  
"You're welcome!" Mayor Zao called out, skipping into the distance, "To the airship!"  
  
The group paused for a second, but soon followed the small skipping Mayor away from the hall and into the courtyard. Carol, despite her initial sluggishness, was at the front of the pack, followed by Milla and Torque, along with Lilac and Master at the back. The group continued running into the expansive courtyard until the Mayor finally stopped, skidding to a halt in his funny little heels. The others stopped too, one at a time, until they were all standing in the middle of the expanse with guards at every part of it. Soon, there was a rumbling sound and a large airship soon descended from the heavens. It was large, about the size of a single ship from that horrific armada seen before, only painted a more inviting shade of red, even on the wood. Its sails were a majestic ruby shade and stretched across the entire deck of the ship, ending in jet engines at the back and cannons situated everywhere along its sides. The impressive transportation eventually landed with a jolt, leaving most of the group with wide eyes and open mouths. The Mayor turned to look at them, looking quite pleased with himself.  
  
"We...we get to ride in THAT?" Carol asked quietly before breaking out into a frenzied flail, "OHMYGREATDRAGONYES!!!"  
  
"But of course!" the proud Mayor boasted heartily, "It's equipped with everything you'll need for your trip, including luxurious living quarters."  
  
"Impressive..." Torque said in amazement, "Beautiful and practical too."  
  
"Damn, if you think THIS pretty..." Master himself looked a little smug, "You've never seen a steampunk airship from Universe ST3A12. Now THAT brings a tear to one's eye. But, I'll be honest, this looks just as cool."  
  
"Beats sleeping in a tree, at least..." Blade added, "Alright, let's get on-board!"  
  
They did so, entering through the main entrance and clambering up to the deck. All five heroes were standing on the deck, leaning on the rails, as the engines flared up. Mayor Zao was below, waving fanatically, "Good Luck, my friends!"  
  
"Goodbye!" came a final squeal from Milla. Soon, the airship's hulking body was zooming into the night sky, and it did not take long to be nothing more than a dot on the horizon.  
  
===========  
One Hour Later  
==========  
  
It was easy to see that Lilac was mesmerised. Both she and Carol were sitting on the edge of the deck, looking over the railings while their legs dangled over the abyss below. Behind them was Master, leant against a sail pole but still quite close to the girls. In the distance was the planet in all its forestry glory, verdant plains and trees stretching on for as far as the eye could see. To Lilac, it was all so...beautiful. And it pained Master to know that, if he failed, this same Lilac would soon be turning these plains to fire and ashes without pause.  
  
"Just imagine it, Carol..." came the awestruck dragon, "There are other worlds out there, just like ours..."  
  
"Not just worlds, mind you..." Master said, tipping his glasses as if tipping a hat, "Other universes. Multiple Planet Avaliace's with multiple Lilac's and Carol's and Milla's. All going on their separate ways and doing heroic things to fight other Brevon's and Serpentine's and Spade's. It's...heartwarming, to say the least."  
  
"Heartwarming?" Carol asked, "How so?"  
  
"Well..." Master started, going against his better judgement and sitting where the two girls were too, "After so much death and destruction, it's always nice to see people across the multiverse consistently doing good. I've travelled through so many universes, I've lost count. I've spent a good three years meandering around this quarter alone. I've seen so much, done so much. I've fought alongside revolutionaries and Government agents, against heroes and villains. War, blood, battle, torture...oh, so much torture. I've seen the very worst a man can do. And then some. It gets...sickening, after a while."  
  
"Why keep going, then?" Lilac asked, "Why keep at this Multiverse Vigilante business you keep mentioning? Don't you ever want to stop?"  
  
"I do..." Master sighed, "I've thought about it before, I've even done it. Ever since the first time the Elder Masters ripped my powers from me, I went on a crusade against them, screaming against the heavens any way I could. But then my powers slowly returned and I cooled down...and I realised how much good I had done in the past. Thought the multiverse needed someone like me."  
  
"The way you're going about it," Carol said, sort of amused, "It's like you have something to atone for."  
  
You could say that..." Master lay down on his back, "I've seen a lot. But I've done so much more. And a lot of it is...well, all I can say is that I have a lot to atone for. For all I know, I might never stop. But I want to. Find some space to live on, with my girlfriend, just have a nice quiet life, you know?"  
  
"Aww, cheer up..." Lilac smiled endearingly. "You'll make things right one day, I'm sure of it."  
  
"Heck, maybe WE could take over your little expedition!" Carol said, looking quite excited, "We could go on space adventures! Don't you think that'd be so cool??"  
  
"Are you kidding? It'd be the coolest thing ever!" Lilac grinned back, her smile from before still intact.  
  
"You know, it's funny..." came Torque's distant voice, "I remember thinking the same thing once..."  
  
Lilac turned to the alien. He seemed to be brooding, out of his shellduck outfit and looking into the distance, "Did you have a change of heart?"  
  
"Not really, no..." Torque sighed, his gaze never looking at the others, "I guess I just wasn't prepared for the sacrifices I had to make...just gotta keep moving forward with this mission, I guess. No point thinking about a past that can't be changed."  
  
"Amen, comrade," Master sighed too.  
  
"Thanks..." Torque said, his voice returning to its more natural tone, "Hey, where's the other girl?"  
  
"Milla?" Lilac looked puzzled, "I'm not sure...can you go check, Carol?"  
  
"Sure..." Carol said wistfully, slowly walking off to the other end of the ship.  
  
Lilac stifled a yawn, "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to sleep..."  
  
"I'm fine," Torque said, "You go on ahead."  
  
"Yeah, I'll probably wait a little more myself..." Master stretched, "Probably watch the ship while you sleep. G'night, dragon girl."  
  
Lilac smiled a final time before retreated into the cabins for the night. Soon, with no Lilac or Carol, it was just Master and Torque with the sounds of the wind and the engines for company. Master stood up and stood next to the brooding Torque, looking out into the distance, "Look at this view, man. Think about it, too; if either of us fail in our missions, this will be nothing more than a wasteland..."  
  
"I know..." Torque sighed, "So, a Multiverse Vigilante, huh? A rare profession. Never thought I'd get to see one in person."  
  
"Well, it's not the dream job your people probably said it is..." Master said, "As I said, you see a lot of horrible things on the job. The only thing that motivates me is that I've done a lot worse. One of those I wish to avert while I'm here..."  
  
"This, uh..." Torque asked, "This atonement of yours...what're you atoning for? I mean, I'm atoning for getting my friends killed or enslaved by Brevon, but..."  
  
"Yeah...tell you what, Torque. I'll tell you...everything. But on the strict rule you NEVER tell the others. Got it?"  
  
"Got it."  
  
"Good. I'll start from the beginning..."  
  
===================  
On the Other Side of the Ship  
===================  
  
Carol, keeping the others out of earshot, crept further along the deck of the ship. Milla was near the aft-end, leaning against the finned part of the ship that lead to the cabins and looked out into the night sky.  
  
"So..." Carol said quietly, "What're you doing, Milla?"  
  
"I'm..." Milla started, a single tear in her eye, "I'm making a wish."  
  
"Oh..." Carol said, leaning to the side, "What kind of wish?"  
  
"Well..." Milla said, a hint of sadness in her voice, "I really wanna see my mommy and daddy again..."  
  
"Sounds like something nice to wish for..." Carol said, "Uh...did you know your parents?"  
  
"Not really..." Milla stifled a sniffle, "I only knew them from when I was a cub. The only ones who respected these...Sira powers. Then there was this war..."  
  
"The Avalice Cival War?" Carol asked, "The one where the kingdoms of Shuigang and Shang Mu had that battle?"  
  
"Yeah..." Milla sniffled at last, "My parents had to go fight for Shang Mu...I never saw 'em again. I had to take shelter in the sewers of Shang Tu just for protection...you know..."  
  
"Aww..." Carol looked down as well, hugging the softly crying hound, "That's so sad...look, it's alright. Everything'll be okay. Come on, we're going to get some sleep. How 'bout that? I can make you some hot caoco..."  
  
"...Okay!" Milla said, very quickly returning to her old happy self. She and Carol quickly retreated into the cabins too. It wasn't long before Master and Torque were also hobbling their way to the cabins to sleep off all that sushi. Master looked ashamed, while Torque looked disturbed.  
  
"...You did all that?"  
  
"MasterSelves, even half-breeds like myself can be quite unstable," Master sighed, "The bond of a relative is strong, certainly strong enough to throw even normal level-headed men into the realms of insanity. Surely you must know that?"  
  
"...I know," Torque sighed, "Come on. Better get some sleep..."  
  
=======  
That Night  
=======  
  
It was that time of the night again. Master always hated that. Every time he fell asleep he at best had a 50/50 chance of having a quiet night. And, sadly, those odds often went up after particularly busy days such as this one. On non-quiet nights, such as this time, he would dream he was in a blackened void, small fires dotting the area, and he would have to talk to someone he once knew. Most of the time it was Franky, who in all honesty still wasn't that happy to see him owing to the...incident they had both been caught up in before, speaking in his cryptic riddles as ever.  
  
"Great..." Master's voice echoed across the void, "THIS again! Blade? You here buddy? No...well, looks like I'm alone. Again. Alright, Franky-Boy! Where are you? Where're your riddles?"  
  
"Actually, he's not here..." came another, different voice, "Couldn't find him, so...I'm sorta here instead."  
  
Master's brow rose in confusion and he glanced over to where the voice had came from. It was another hedgehog, this one female and petite. She too had brown fur, but a much lighter shade than Master's had ever been and she had eyes that gleamed a dazzling green. She was clad in a blue bodysuit with white accents and lines, alongside traditional white gloves and blued shoes. Finally was a green bag hanging from a strap wrapped around her shoulder, its side emblazoned with a red cross. One of her large, almost bat-like ears twitched a bit as she simply stood in front of the bewildered Master.  
  
"Sonar?" Master asked, the confusion melded in thickly with his voice, "What're you doing in my head?"  
  
"...I 'unno..." Sonar shrugged, "I'm just kinda...here. In the same way the others were here."  
  
"Well, in all due respect, it's nice to see you again," Master chirped, taking the long-eared hedgehog's hand and shaking it, "I haven't seen you for a long time!"  
  
"About a year and a half, I know," Sonar hummed, "Well, you're not really talking to the really real Sonar here. You're just talking to your sub-conscious who's just taken on her form and parts of her personality because another form is, for whatever reason, missing."  
  
"What, you mean Franky?" Master asked, "Well, where's he gone off to, then? Good Chaos, he didn't jump ship to Lilac's noggin, did she?"  
  
"Nobody knows," Sonar sighed, "Though I've...well, you've noticed that he seems to vanish for a few days every time you land in a new universe. So for all we know, he might. Gotta say, though; dude gets around."  
  
"Great..." Master sighed, flopping to the floor and sitting there, "I'm trying to get Lilac through this with both her brain and body in one piece and my ex-best friend is probably prancing around having the time of his life."  
  
"You know, it's funny..." Sonar smirked, "I thought you were sick of him guilt tripping you."  
  
"Yeah, but I don't want him guilt tripping others instead!"  
  
"Aww, it's fine," Sonar smiled, sitting beside Master, "I won't try to guilt trip you. For all I know, you've probably gone through enough. That, and Sonar is supposed to be a medic. Compassion is kinda necessary. Sadly, I do have a warning for you."  
  
"Oh?" Master asked sarcastically, "Well, what is it?"  
  
"The journey back to Shang Tu," Sonar sighed, "Turns out it's all been a farce. There is only nothing but pain and suffering back home."  
  
"And let me guess..." Master sighed, "You can't tell me."  
  
"Well, I AM still a part of you, form of a beloved medic regardless," Sonar said quietly, "All I know is that Neera-Li is involved somehow. As expected, I guess. I have the horrible feeling that she's going to cause a lot of trouble for your group down the line. Better watch your back, Man Who Keeps Passing Through..." she sighed and stopped, before suddenly jumping, "OH! Before I forget, this might help..."  
  
She then dug into her bag and fished out a small blue bottle, "Here. Your body found a way to counteract the poison from Brevon's blade. Should help your stomach wound heal. Take it, 'cause trust me; you'll need it..." she handed the bottle to Master, then stood up, "Sorry, Traveller, but I've gotta go. You're gonna wake up soon, anyway."  
  
Master looked at the bottle, then endearingly at the form, "Thanks, Sonar."  
  
"Don't mention it," Sonar smiled a final time, fading out just like Franky had with Lilac. Soon, even her wonderful smile was gone and Master was alone again. He sighed happily, staring wistfully at the bottle. It was small and blue, as said before, and it was also round and had a traditional wooden cork in the top. It had no label and a dark liquid was swirling around inside. Master smiled, removing his scarf and opening the bottle. Naturally, it smelt of roses (with a small hint of sunflower oil, for some reason), and looked vicious and uninviting. Still, it had to be drunk, otherwise Master was sure this stomach wound would be his downfall.  
  
However, just as he was about to put the top of the bottle to his lips, a raging wind flew past his sitting form, throwing him to his back and flinging the bottle out of his hand. It eventually stopped, as if someone had caught in midair, and hovered in the air for a few seconds. Then there was a reverberating noise, one easily recognised as a cloak device failing, and a clawed and bloodied hand slowly came into existence. It was soon followed by the arm, then the creature's body and finally its legs and head. To Master's horror, the bottle was now in the grasp of the bloodied, black-eyed and crazed monster his whole mission was to avert.  
  
"War Lilac!"  
  
"Miss me?" came a wonderfully nasty growl, "War Lilac, at your service. And if I remember correctly, last time we met you shot me in the stomach and left me to die."  
  
"And I swear you did the same to me," Master replied bitterly, "Much more painfully and with the blade of a madman."  
  
"Indeed..." War Lilac giggled, juggling the bottle in her hand, "And now your body is trying to heal that wound...and I'm sorry, but I really can't let that happen..."  
  
"Don't..." Master growled, throwing himself to his feet, "You...DO IT."  
  
War Lilac's sharp and bloodied teeth curled into a smile and the bottle in her hand shivered violently as her claws dug deeper and deeper into it. Finally, it gave and the bottle shattered, spreading the liquid and shards of glass across the floor. War Lilac herself howled with pain as the shards dug deep into the palm of her hand, which quickly gave way to deranged laughter, "Hahahahaha! OOOH...that hurts so good!"  
  
"Chaos..." Master called out, "What do I do to make you end up like...that?"  
  
"Oh, I'm pretty sure you know WHAT you do..." War Lilac grinned, removing the remains of her left glove, "It's more WHO does it!" To Master's surprise, large gashes were spread across her wrist, like someone had dragged barbed wire across it, "Look familiar? And what about the corruption, that all should die for the sins of our fellows? To, as you once said, prove a point?"  
  
"...No..." Master sunk to his knees in shock, "No...not him!"  
  
"Yes him!" War Lilac screamed, throwing her hands to the sky and letting out a disfigured laugh, "So you better work overtime boy!"  
  
Master, face scrawled into pure rage, sprinted forward towards the twitching War Lilac, hoping to land a punch somewhere on her. However, at the last second some sort of chasm opened up beneath him, throwing him off his feet and leaving him hanging on the edge of this deep abyss. A chuckling War Lilac soon grabbed Master by his own left wrist and hoisted him up.  
  
"Looks like you're gonna wake up soon..." War Lilac chuckled, "Gotta go back to old Neera and get it over with!"  
  
"Get it over with?" Master asked, exasperated, "The hell d'ya mean?"  
  
"Well, I'll be fair," War Lilac shrugged, "I'll give your fairer warning than that medic ever could. Neera's gonna get you guys locked up tomorrow. Torque will get set free and then...oh-h, and then..." Master suddenly winced as a hideous, piercing shriek filled his ears. To his abject terror, the voice matched that of Lilac's and the sound of surging electricity was mixed in. War Lilac grinned again, "Ha, that old Brevon! Always electrocuting people for the means of torture! Have to say, though, it REALLY gets the kinks out of your back..."  
  
"No..." Master growled, "You're lying! I know you are! Why should I beleive you?"  
  
"'Cause I've gone through this before, remember?" War Lilac said cockily, "Every stab, every gunshot wound, every bite and slash and..." she tussled the one synthetic tendril she had left, "Removals. I have had to sit through every last drawn-out, agonising, disgraceful second and believe me, I WILL make sure he inflicts every single one of those on you. Bon voyage!"  
  
And with that, War Lilac's grip loosened. Master screamed as he fell deep into the abyss. The last thing he saw was War Lilac's sneering, ravaged face, before only total darkness and the sound of a thump.  
  
===  
???  
===  
  
"Traveller!" came Milla's voice, "Wake up!"  
  
Master awoke with another start and fumbled around in his panic. He finally calmed down and sat up. He was in the cabins within the belly of ship, having just woken up. He was sprawled out on the floor, having seemingly fallen out of bed, and was still covered with the quilts. He was only wearing his black t-shirt and trousers, his scarf and jacket sitting on the nearby chair and putting his glasgow grin on show for all to see. Only Milla herself was in the room, panicked and misty-eyed. Explosions rocked the ship and sent both crashing onto their backs once more.  
  
"What's going on?!" Master called out amongst the inferno.  
  
"It's the Sky Batal...the Sky Batta...no..." Millla fumbled, "The airships. They're trying to shoot us down!"  
  
"The Sky Battalion!" Blade called out, sat amongst the pile of clothes, "Dammit, I knew we overslept! Slugger, we gotta move!"  
  
"Wait, where're the others?" Master asked.  
  
"Carol and Lilac are taking out the cannons on the other ships!" Milla hastily explained, "Torque's trying to take the third one down!"  
  
"I slept though THAT?"  
  
Milla said no more but a mere, "Come ON!" and dragged Master to his feet. He responded with speed too, grabbing the mound of clothes on the overturned chair. It didn't take long to get dressed and soon he was rushing out onto the main deck of the ship. It was a warzone out there; the deck was littered with huge holes and burning fires, all damaging the ship. In the sky and beyond were even more airships, painted a mean green shade and even larger than Zao's ship, littered with robots and cannons and firing with gusto on both heroes' positions. Master grabbed Milla and dodged out of the way, slamming against the side of the cabin wall as a large cannonball smashed into the deck and created another massive hole in it. Master set Milla down and looked out towards the other ships.  
  
"Dammit!" Master called out, "We've gotta take one of these things down! Milla! Do you know which ships they're on?"  
  
"Lilac said she was going to take on the Metal Ship..." Milla said, struggling to remember the details, "Uh, and Carol said she'd take on the Fire Ship! Torque's taken on the Water Ship!"  
  
"That only leaves the one in front of us, the Earth Ship. But I won't be able to get close enough to take those cannons on at this rate!" Master growled, "I'm going to have to use the RPG."  
  
"Aww come on!" Blade whined, "We were saving that for when we went to Universe Z0M2011! The multiverse can only handle so much awful stupidity!"  
  
"I know, but this is more important!" Master cried out quickly. He quickly dug into his jacket and began to fish out items clearly bigger than the pockets themselves. First was a metal lunchbox, "No..." which he threw away, followed by some kind of bag with a belt of bullets hanging out of it, "No..." and then a silver bracelet with a light blue orb on it, "Oh. So that's where Chip's neck thing went." Finally, there was a click and Master's expression changed instantly. Soon, he dragged a large long tube out of his jacket pocket, the tube having two handles and some kind of scope alongside a wooden finish. He then dragged out a rocket of some type, feeding it into the mouth of the tube and twisting it into place.  
  
"What's that?" Milla asked in her usual innocent way.  
  
"Ruchnoy Protiv...uh..." Master said, fumbling, "Uh, it's known as the RPG-7. A hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher, though often referred to as a rocket launcher for convenience. Found it in a black market in Universe STH2006 and fitted it with a laser targeting device. Hits where it aims...mostly. Anyway, stay there. You REALLY don't want to get caught in the backblast of this thing!"  
  
Milla ducked out of the way and Master sprinted across the deck of the ship, aiming the launcher with only a single hand. His rocking hand steadied and he pulled the trigger, sending a spray of smoke out of both ends of the tube. The rocket itself screamed its way across the sky and arched around multiple times, tumbling towards one of the airships. It collided with one of the cannons of the nearest ship, the direct hit tearing through the creation and dragging its remnants back down to the planet's surface. Master, clearly pleased at this turn of events, fished out another rocket and loaded it, ready to fire another round. Milla, standing behind the wall, had a quick spark of genius and rushed out across the deck too, carrying another green block of energy above her head. The cannons fired again and Milla stopped, holding the block out in front of her and hoping for the best. The cannonball collided with the large cube and was sent sailing across the sky back to the airships, smashing into the jet engines and causing the ship to become unstable. Master took this opportunity and fired his second rocket into the ship as well, finally destroying the infernal transportation. Its sails caught fire and the hunk of wood, now totally aflame, went screaming into the planet below.  
  
"Yeah!" Master cried out in victory, before suddenly stopping cold, "Ahh, shit. I hope Lilac wasn't on that one!"  
  
"Nah, I checked it," Blade said, chuckling, "She's fine. Plus, she seems to be coming back here!"  
  
It didn't take long, but eventually the ships stopped firing. In-fact, they seemed to be turning away. Master peered out over the wooden barrels he was hiding behind and looked out on the deck. Three shapes were slowly coming into focus, flying down to the ship on some kind of rocket-powered lifeboat. On it were indeed the three heroes of Lilac, Carol and Torque, somewhat battered and singed but mostly okay.  
  
"Guys!" Milla cried out, bounding across the deck to tackle Lilac into a hug, "We did it!"  
  
"We?" came Lilac's croaky, singed voice, "What happened to Sir Sleepsalot?"  
  
"We're up, don't worry!" Blade said, "And we're fine. Managed to take down one of the airships, too!"  
  
"We saw," Torque said, "You blasted that thing out the sky with only two rockets and a cannonball. Primitive, but impressive."  
  
"Yeah, I saw it too," Carol said, "Shook the ship I was on to its core, but at least it rocked the cannons out of the ship itself. So you saved me a lot of work!"  
  
"And I just happened to run into Spade," Lilac said, "That explosion of yours allowed me to drive him away, thank the Great Dragon."  
  
"Spade was here?" Torque asked, "Why?"  
  
"I don't know..." Lilac sighed, "I tried to tell him that Lord Brevon was to blame, but all he did was ignore it and try to throw me off the ship."  
  
"Hmm hmm hmmmmm," came a rather weasely laugh, "My brother, always the arrogant and spineless traitor he always has been. At least I defend my kingdom!"  
  
"Another unknown voice?" Master asked, irritated.  
  
"Not this time..." Lilac growled, "That's Prince Dail!"  
  
The heroes looked up into the skies. Amidst the quickly fleeing airships of war was something that could only be described as a mechanical monstrosity of a bird. Its massive metal plumes spread across the sky, each situated with some glowing blue orbs and a few specks of chipped paint. The body itself was also large and heavily armoured, with plates attached across its body, and two clawed feet to match. Finally came its head, large and majestic, but armed with some kind of lasers built into the eyes. And sitting on top of this machine was a panda of some kind; a regal, ruined individual who was clad in robes as green as the forests below them. Upon closer look, however, he looked ravaged with many rips in his clothing and obvious signs of repair everywhere. It certainly didn’t help that the creature's eyes were glowing a dull, disgusting red. The creature sat just behind the bird's neck, holding onto it and hiding behind a forcefield of some kind.  
  
"Prince Dail..." Torque said with surprise, attempting to bow, "It's an honour!"  
  
"Do not kneel to me, traitors!" the Prince shouted, his voice bombastic but seemingly synthetic, "We have a score to settle."  
  
"Let me guess..." Carol said, exasperated, "You think we're the killers of your father."  
  
"I'm not guessing," Prince Dail growled, "I KNOW. You killed my father, and you must pay for it!"  
  
"This is gonna be one of those days..." Carol sighed.  
  
"Prince Dail, please!" Torque quickly stepped out in front of him, "Listen to us. We know who your father's killer is! You're working for him!"  
  
"Lord Brevon..." Prince Dail growled, throwing his head around in agony, "AARGH! NO! You lie!"  
  
"I'm not lying," Torque said quietly, "Please, calm down and stand down. We can help you..."  
  
Torque got no more time to say anything else, as what could only be described as a giant ball of electricity smashed into him at top speeds, sending him flying across the deck. He landed and rolled, eventually crashing into a bunch of barrels to stop his tumble. Lilac cried out in anguish and ran over to him, checking him over. He was injured, but thankfully the blast's damage had been mild. The Prince smiled smugly and edged forward in his machine, eager to finish him off. Instead, however, came a flurry of spins and kicks that rocked the bird to its core, damaging a good deal of its glowing plumage orbs and sent the Prince himself reeling. He looked up, growling, at the angry Lilac.  
  
"Not a chance!" Lilac said, her teeth grated, "You're not hurting my friends!"  
  
"You WILL face justice!" Prince Dail barked in response, "Surrender!"  
  
There was thundering sound of wooden footsteps as the others heroes rushed across the deck to Torque and stood in front of him, guarding him. Carol was first, "No chance, buster!"  
  
Milla was next, "I...I can't! I WON'T!"  
  
And Master was last, "I will not bow to some decedent dandy!"  
  
"So...you have all chosen death..." The Prince's voice was quiet and subtle at first. Then, with a monstrous creak, the bird activated all of its cannons and fired upon the heroes, who narrowly dodged it and dragged Torque out of the way. The creature then arched its head back and roared with a mechanical screech, its owner roaring alongside him, "HOW PATHETIC!"  
  
The Prince wasted no time in attacking the group again, raising himself fully into the sky and screaming down onto the deck of the ship. Master grabbed Torque and dragged him out of the way, spiriting across the deck and off into the cabins, while Carol and Milla split off to attack the being from all sides. This only left Lilac to fight the Prince head on, which she did with ease. First she jumped up and onto a nearby rocket lifeboat, springing off it and spinning directly into the creatures plumes. A good portion of what remained of the orbs were smashed too, rocking the robotic bird and almost throwing the Prince off. He steadied himself and mashed buttons installed onto the neck of the bird, causing its wings to bend. Between the tips came a slowly forming ball of light blue, very similar to what Torque had been knocked out by, which the creature shifted and launched towards the dragon. The energy ball barely missed Lilac, grazing her tendrils and singing the fur. This did not throw Lilac off, however, and she managed to smash the final few orbs. The forcefield around the Prince disabled with an audible crackle and Lilac took her chances. She threw herself into the Prince's location boots first, striking him in the face with both feet. He tumbled off the bird and smacked into the deck, groaning with the pain. Lilac closed in to restrain him, but he dodged and dashed back onto the bird before Lilac could blink. All she could see was a green outline of the Prince before she looked up into the sky to see the robot bird dive bomb her once more.  
  
Carol attacked soon after, jumping onto the robot and grabbing the Prince by the wrists, wrenching control of the contraption away from him. The bird swung wildly about in the sky, sending the two flying left and right but both stayed on. Milla approached next, a block of energy already in her hands, and she jumped into the air. Another giant laser came screaming from her hands, slicing through most of the plumes and sending them crashing to the deck of the ship. She too jumped onto the back of the bird and wrestled to keep the Prince away from the controls. Lilac watched with awe before she received a sudden bump from Master, the Blade of Hysteria in clasped tightly in his hand, He silently pointed to the top of the ship's sail supports, to which Lilac seemed to understand. She grabbed him and rolled into another Dragon Boost, propelling her and Master high into the air. The Boost ceased and two were sailing high above the robot. Master then thrust Blade forward and one again split the blade itself into segments and wrapped the final few around one of the support beams. A few uneasy, windy seconds passed and soon the two were swinging across the ship and closing in on the quickly dissolving bird. Finally, it gave up and its engines cut out, sending the infernal thing plummeting towards the planet's surface along with the rest of it. The Prince was catapulted into the air, in a split second, all became clear to Lilac. She shifted position, grabbing Master's legs and stretching out her own, slamming both boots into the Prince's chest. He was sent flying off the side of the ship and colliding with one of the escaping transport vessels, hanging onto its landing gear for his life.  
  
"You FOOLS!" he screamed in rage as the vessel zoomed off into the sky and beyond, "THIS IS FAR FROM OVER!"  
  
Lilac sighed, flopping back onto the deck. Master did this too, stuffing Blade back into his holster. Carol and Milla approached separately and even Torque managed to limp towards the group.  
  
"Well..." Carol said wearily, a big  grin spread across her face, "That was fun."  
  
"Fun?" Milla whined, "How was that fun?"  
  
"I dunno..." Master said, nodding, "I thought that was kinda fun too."  
  
"Spade and Dail..." Lilac said softly, staring at the deck floor, "Why did they attack us? Spade isn't on Brevon's payroll...isn't he?"  
  
"Best guess, he's just trying to find his father's killer," Torque said, "He'll never accept that the leader of his brother is the killer. It's almost as if someone's manipulating him behind the scenes."  
  
"What about Dail?" Lilac asked, "He seemed to be in pain when mentioning Brevon..."  
  
"As expected, really," Blade began to explain, "His brainwaves weren't in any way natural. In-fact, the only other time I've seen brainwaves like that is in victims of this robo-croc in Universe AFG213. Nasty little bugger he was; brainwashed and enslaved entire countries just to fuel his disgraceful desires. Still, his victims had radically different brainwaves, missing the ones that helped with conscience thought. Best guess, Brevon tortured the little sprog into complete servitude."  
  
"Great..." Lilac sighed, "So he won't take no for an answer because he thinks Brevon is top dog?"  
  
"Yes," Master said finally.  
  
"Well, we managed to scare them off..." Torque sighed, scraping some debris off the deck, "And we have evidence of Brevon's involvement, too. A good portion of those escape vessels came from his army and the metals used are like nothing on this planet. With this, we have them! We need to get back to Shang Tu as soon as possible."  
  
The others said no more, only agreeing with silent nods and then beginning to walk to the cabins. However, bounding along the deck towards them was a very panicked Milla.  
  
"Guys!" she called out, "We have a problem!"  
  
"She's right..." Blade mumbled, "Listen...do you hear anything? I can't. There are no sounds to hear..."  
  
"Traveller, are you sure that weapon of yours isn't going a bit...you know..." Carol twiddled her fingers in a circular motion, "Senile?"  
  
"No, he's right," Torque said, "Normally we'd be hearing the sound of the engines, but there's just...nothing."  
  
The group stood around for a few seconds, slowly processing the information, before looks of shock spread across their faces and they dashed like madmen to the back of the ship. To their horror, the two majestic jet engines were now blackened charred messes, beyond inoperable, and emitted nothing but thick black plumes of smoke. The entire ship began to tilt forward and the rushing wind became stronger and louder, to almost unbearable levels.  
  
"Shit..." Master said, panicked. He rushed to protect Milla, grabbing her hyperventilating form, "Everybody get inside and hold onto something! We're going down!"


	7. Jade Creek Jailbreak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DeviantART Link: https://masterperrymartin.deviantart.com/art/Freedom-Dies-With-Me-CHAPTER-6-557611079

"Traveller...Travelleeeeer...can you hear me, Traveller?"  
  
Master groaned with a scratchy voice, his head pounding like one of those idiotic bouncing robots he had seen in Shang Mu. His throbbing temple was eased by his shaking hand as the voice called out to him again.  
  
"Come on, Traveller! Sorry to say this, but you ain't dead yet! OI!"  
  
There was a sudden thump on Master's chest and he grunted in pain. His sense of sight soon came back to him and things began to look much clearer; he was in the cabins of Mayor Zao's airship, lying on his back with his stomach reeling from a blunt pain. The cabin was relatively stable and calm, with none of the extreme tremors that only a few good seconds ago had rocked the already doomed ship to its core. The memories slowly came flooding back to him; he had hid with Milla in here when the ship was going down, clasping her tightly in an effort to protect her. There was sudden, violent crash and Master was thrown unconscious. Only now could he see the young hound lying on the floor nearer to the beds. She was breathing and appeared to not be injured, bringing a sigh of relief to him. He turned his aching neck to see exactly who was in front of him. To his dismay, the black-eyed, red-pupiled, ravaged face of War Lilac was again staring back at him.  
  
"Morning, sunshine!" she growled, stifling a deranged giggle within the middle of it, "It's nice to see you made it in one piece! Now, I know you might be wondering where you are. Don't worry, you're safe. And so is the dog. But...well, not for long."  
  
"Wha..." Master groaned, his delirious mind rendering him unable to properly speak.  
  
"Don't you worry about a thing, puddin'..." War Lilac said, her voice taking on a mockingly soft tone, "I'll be REAL gentle with her when I get my clawed mits on her small, frail form. I'll make her stronger AND better, just you wait and see! Wanna try and stop me? That's fine. But you better haul backside, slugger. You're already running out of time. You have one more day to make things right, to steer this timeline back onto the right path...but will you have the wheel?"  
  
Her raucous and vicious laughter stung Master's damaged ears and he groaned in pain, swatting away at the incorporeal form like it was some kind of fly. Eventually, a hand grasped his own and his eyes managed to re-focus. In front of him now, in the place of the monstrous being from before, was the normal and sane Sash Lilac of old. Her face looked worried, rocking Master's body and keeping her hand on his chest.  
  
"Traveller!" she called out, "Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm..." Master managed to mumble, "I'm fine, really...what happened?"  
  
"The ship's engines failed, remember?" Lilac said, "You told us to duck into the cabins for protection. We crashed and a good portion of us blacked out...I think. They're all up now and they're...mostly fine."  
  
"Mostly?"  
  
"Well..." Lilac sighed, "Carol's broke a rib from the impact and we've all got mild concussions, but otherwise we're fine."  
  
"What about..." Master groaned, "What about Milla?"  
  
Lilac looked confused for a split second, but Master quickly pointed to the hound spread out across the floor. Lilac rolled over to her and checked her over, taking her pulse and putting her hand to the little Basset's chest. She sighed in relief and crawled back over, "She's fine, Traveller. Got a sprained ankle I think, but she's going to be okay..."  
  
Master said nothing, simply sighing in happiness and laying back down on the unforgiving floor. There was the sound of clomping on wood as Carol and Torque entered the scene.  
  
"You made it!" Carol said happily, "But, did everyone make it?"  
  
"Milla's okay..." Lilac said in a panicked way, "But, Traveller..."  
  
"Hang on, let me see..." Carol stated, helping Lilac aside and staring at the floored creature. She too checked his pulse and heartbeat, before checking all limbs and then prodding his stomach, which made him yelp in pain, "Hmm..." she quickly held up three fingers on her left hand, "Hey, how many fingers am I holding up?"  
  
Master flipped the bird in response.  
  
Carol looked offended for a few seconds, but then donned a more amused face, "He's fine..." and stood up, grabbing Master's arm and helping him to his feet. In the distance was Torque, who was helping Milla up too."  
  
"Well..." Torque said happily, "At least we're all up now. The ship had the incredible good fortune to crash into a river just outside of Shang Tu. It's waist deep in water in the engine bays, but I managed to get the pumps working again. It'll take some time, but we'll be able to sail this thing to the palace..." his face quickly donned an amused face just like Carol's, "It's weird. Here I was, thinking this ship design was for the look of it..."  
  
"Until then?" Carol asked.  
  
"Well, we have some time to kill," Torque shrugged, "Unless you want to help bail the water out and paddle the ship back into the city..." Carol looked a tad blank, "Heh, I kinda thought so. At worst, it'll be only two hours until we can get going. What do you Avalonians do to pass the time?"  
  
"We watch movies..." Lilac said, counting the activities on her hand, "We play board games, sometimes go into the city for some dancing, maybe bake a cake."  
  
"Sounds like fun," Master mumbled, wobbling slightly on his feet, "Shame we can't really do any of those here."  
  
"Yeah..." Lilac sighed, "I guess we can just sit out on the deck and watch the trees go by..."  
  
"Gets my vote," Carol said.  
  
"Again, there isn't much we can do until this thing is fully pumped," Torque explained, "Suggest we...do..stuff."  
  
The others nodded and headed out to the deck, Master last among them. Torque was about to leave when he heard yet another pained groan from Master. He turned to see the vigilante, only a few steps away from his original position, falling to his knees, clutching his stomach with one arm and keeping himself stable with the other. He seemed to have trouble breathing, and Torque could swear he even heard some garbled whimpering from him. Blade was also in a bit of a panic, screaming, "Slugger? Slugger! Keep it together, please!"  
  
Torque rushed over to Master and helped support him, before helping him over to the cleanest bed and plopping him down onto it.  
  
"Traveller!" he said, a large amount of worry woven into his voice, "Are you okay?"  
  
"Well, I've been better..." Master said weakly. pointing to his stomach, "It's just...just..."  
  
Torque acted swiftly and removed Master's scarf and jacket, leaving only his black shirt. And under that, to Torque's shock, was a thick covering of bandages stained a dark crimson. Upon closer inspection, however, they were not just stained; they were dripping with blood, saturated with such a precious life-giving fluids.  
  
"I...uh...Chaos!" Torque called out, "What even IS this?"  
  
"Something from before this little adventure," Blade said, bizarrely worried, "War Lilac stabbed him in the stomach with Brevon's blade, remember? Everybody's gone for the stomach in this little adventure and now it's starting to get worse. They gave us bandages to stem the blood flow, but that's it."  
  
"That's it?" Torque asked, "They didn't try to stitch it up?"  
  
"I don't think they could," Blade said, "This wound is bad enough without getting into all these fights to help keep it wider than the legs of an anthropomorphic smartphone game! I've devoted almost all my 'runtime' to getting it healed up, but it's been a nightmare. It's like the poison on the blade is sentient and actively fighting me every step of the way. I'm...I'm lost, Torque. I just don't know what else to do."  
  
"It should've healed up by now, I know that," Torque said in a panicked manner, "Okay, okay, I can get this under control. I lost a lot of my medical tech when my ship crashed, but I managed to scavenge this thing..." he dug into his pockets and fished out some kind of large steel bracket with a needle and some thread, "This is a prototype of something we call a QuickStitch. Helps stitch up gaping wounds like this quickly and without error. Normally it would administer a strong painkiller before getting to work, but...look, Traveller. Just don't scream too loud."  
  
"Why?" Master asked as Torque carefully set the bracket over his stomach wound. He soon got the answer as the bracket jumped, sending a large clanking sound into the air. There was a sudden, almost crippling pain in Master's stomach and he writhed as he screamed, "AARGH! Son of a...ARGH!"  
  
"Told you," Torque sighed, removing the bracket. Master's stomach wound was now completely closed, a neat black line of thread zig-zagged across it, "It's not a permanent solution, but it should hold until we get to Shang Tu. We'll hand you over to the Royal Medics and maybe they can help. At the very least they can replace your bandages. They're as red as your scarf. Now, just sit here and get some rest. DON'T get up, whatever you do. I'll tell the others how bad it's gotten, it's for the best."  
  
"Thank you...Torque..." Master breathed hastily, "You're a real freakin' saint around these parts."  
  
"You're welcome..." Torque said, a small smile across his face. He gathered up the bandages and left the room, leaving Master and Blade alone.  
  
"Blade..." Master sighed, holding the weapon above his head, "What was our plan after this?"  
  
"Get back home, find some land to live on and live a quiet live with your raccoon girlfriend Emma," Blade said, his glow dim and his voice grave, "Well, if we live long enough. I don't want to say you've had it, but..."  
  
"Then don't..." Master groaned, his arm going limp and his eyes clasping shut, "Let me rest..."  
  
==============================================  
Several Hours Later, in the Palace Waiting Rooms  
==============================================  
  
Lilac's brow dripped with sweat. For the past hour, they had been sitting just outside of the large, forboding doors to the Royal Chambers of the Majister, waiting for the word to enter. For the hour Lilac couldn't help the butterflies in her stomach, the sharp and tense feeling about seeing the Majister with this evidence. She knew the Majister was level-headed, sensible and open to new suggestions, but would even he believe their crazy story? It sounded like something out of science fiction; an evil warlord has conquered half the galaxy and now he plans to kill this planet off unless everyone can band together to stop him. It just sounded completely batty on paper.  
  
She looked around, gulping and trying desperately to calm her nerves; Carol, Milla and Torque were sitting on the chairs beside her, Torque carrying a large chunk of the Sky Battalion in his hands. Master was nowhere to be seen, however; Lilac had gotten word of his ailments and, alongside Milla, had become almost sick with worry. Not that she really liked him as such, seeing as his sharp wit and short temper had almost gotten them into trouble a few times with royalty. Considering her own past, she knew that was the last thing they needed. But still, there was something charming to him, something that didn't make him totally unlikeable. For a man who roamed the fabric of reality, he seemed weak, both in mind and in body. She had read books about people like him, the kind everyone loved, never lost, always got the girl and always seemed to be the most powerful man in the universe. One of them, a blue hedgehog, he had ranted about on the journey here. And yet here he was; bad-tempered, emotionally-unstable, excessively violent and just wanting to stop, even when he seemed to know he couldn't. Perhaps, came that thought to her mind, that this was what truly became of great heroes, even as their legends were passed on.  
  
She sighed and turned to Milla. She was sitting next to her, a look of worry neatly matching Lilac's own, pawing at her ears and breathing heavily.  
  
"It's, uh..." Lilac stammered to Milla, "It's been a wild ride...hasn't it?"  
  
"Y-Yeah..." Milla whimpered, her form shivering.  
  
Lilac sighed briefly. She had heard her talk with Carol aboard the airship the night before, just before she went to bed. About how she lost her parents in that idiotic civil war. She supposed now was the time to ask about it. She slowly gathered up the courage and, "How long have you been away from your parents?"  
  
"I'm not sure..." Milla sighed, "It feels like a really long time now..."  
  
"And you've been alone in the woods and sewers of Shang Tu ever since?" Lilac asked. A solemn Milla nodded. Lilac's own face looked solemn too, before sprouting into a look of happiness, "I hope this doesn't sound strange, but...that's really impressive! Believe me, I wouldn't survive a day without my treehouse! I'll tell you what; when this is all over, how about we have a girls' night out? Just you and me?"  
  
"AHEM!" came a slightly disgruntled voice from down the corridor.  
  
"Well..." Lilac looked embarrassed, "Me and you and Carol. You know, try out some dresses, maybe go dancing. We could even buy a huge plate of sushi and just pig out!"  
  
"Yeah, good luck getting ME in a dress!" Carol said playfully, a smirk spread across her face.  
  
"Well, sure!" Milla giggled, "I'd like that!"  
  
"Well, then," Lilac smirked, giving the playful hound's hair another rub, "That's what we'll do. Let Torque and Traveller clean the house for a change!"  
  
"Hey, speaking of Traveller..." Carol said inquisitively, "Where is he? He didn't look too well when we got off the ship. I'm starting to wonder if he collapsed."  
  
"I handed him over to the Royal Medics," Torque spoke up, still clutching at the shrapnel, "His stomach perforation from before hasn't got any better. If anything, it's been getting worse. What he was stabbed with had some poison on the end of the blade, something seemingly sentient that can repel even that Hysteria Blade's natural healing ability."  
  
"It's been an hour," Lilac said, "How long will it take them?"  
  
"You have to remember," Torque explained, "That the poison is part of Lord Brevon's technology, or as close as you can get. Whatever it is, it's way more advanced that your own world's. They won't be able to do much, but hopefully just enough to keep him stable until we get this ordeal through and through."  
  
"Out of my way!" came a slurring voice from down the hall, "Stupendous git coming through!"  
  
There was the sound of the odd shove and heavy footsteps down towards the others. There was Master, a beaten and plodding mockery of his former self; stumbling, slurred and incredibly unhinged. He stopped and stared bitterly at Carol, his face twisted into a sneer, "What're you smirking at, Casual?"  
  
"Nothing..." Carol said, somewhat offended, "Uh, Blade thingy? What's up with him?"  
  
"Big shock, the surgeons couldn't really do anything," Blade explained with a grumble, "They don't know how to counteract the poison, but they've managed to keep the damn wound shut. Military grade staples, just to be on the safe side. They've also replaced his bandages, washed his blood-stained clothes and given him enough painkillers to down a T-Rex. Only real problem is that they're so strong they're affecting his mood. Poor guy's gone a bit delirious on us."  
  
"Well, at least you're alright now," Torque said re-assuredly, "And hey, your clothes don't smell all matted anymore."  
  
"Indeed," Blade said, suddenly sounding a lot happier, "The scarf especially! He hasn't washed the thing since 2013! I've never been so glad to smell the scents of vanilla candles!"  
  
"...You can smell?"  
  
"Excuse me, Miss Lilac..." came one of the guards by the doors, to which everyone turned to look at, "Uh, the Royal Majister is ready to see you now."  
  
"Oh Great Dragon, here we go!" Lilac stammered, the feelings of tense again attacking her nerves.  
  
"Right, here is what we'll do," Torque explained, "I sense you have a history with these people and we cant risk the bias. And if what you said about this Neera-Li is any indications, Traveller won't do much either, especially with those painkillers in him. I'm the neutral one, pretty much, so let me do the talking. There's a far bigger chance they'll believe me."  
  
"Fair enough," Lilac said, suddenly turning to Master, "And you. I know you're a bit loopy, but we can't have a repeat of what happened at the Temple. So even if you see Neera, say NOTHING. Clear?"  
  
"Crystal..." Master grumbled back.  
  
=============================  
Meanwhile, in the Royal Chambers  
=============================  
  
General Gong looked bored. Same as ever. He was waiting in the Royal Chambers alongside The Majister himself, sitting in the chair looking bored himself. The only other one there was Neera and she looked anything BUT bored; she had a rather nasty sneer splattered across her face, like someone had taken a glob of negative emotions and just...actually, scratch that. That was a bad analogy. Regardless, she looked like she was definitely not looking forward to this. Perhaps she just didn't want to see that Master fellow again. Understandable, Gong supposed. He wasn't the absolute best when they had first met in the Temple and wasn't really all that polite the next time, either.   
  
One of the guards had just called them in, however, and soon the whole group was walking towards him and the others. They were all the same; The shellduck was in front, the Lilac and Carol, then the flying hound with the good sense of smell and finally that Master guy. He looked tired, run down and quite grouchy. He had heard from soldier gossip that someone had entered the medical chambers a mere hour ago, so either he was just grouchy or was tanking a good three prescriptions worth of painkillers. He decided, for the best, to stay out of his way. At least he tolerated him, he supposed, which was still better than Neera. They entered the middle of the room as he approached them.  
  
"My friends!" he bellowed in his natural boisterous way, "How did the negotiations fare?"  
  
"Prince Dail took the Stone," the shellduck spoke up, "We need to speak to the Majister immediately."  
  
"Well, you've come to the right place!" Gong laughed, "This way, please." He took the others to just in front of The Majister and made them bow. The Master guy grumbled, but did it anyway. The Majister sat up from his seat and stood before them, an imposing figure.  
  
"A thousand good greetings you, Majister..." Torque said, still bowing.  
  
The Majister did not move beyond a blink, only speaking in his baritone buzz, "It is my understanding that Shuigang is now in possession of the Kingdom Stone..."  
  
"Not exactly, Your Greatness. Someone else has it. It's been taken by a warlord named Brevon. He has been manipulating the three kingdoms into waging war."  
  
"And do you have proof?" The Majister asked.  
  
"I do," Torque said. He walked forward and placed the chunk of scrap on the floor, "This is a fragment of one of Brevon's machines. Have your best scientists examine it. You'll find that its mineral composition doesn't match anything that's built on your world."  
  
"I see..." The Majister said, rubbing his shadowed chin, "Well, I guess there cannot be any harm in it. General Gong, if you would be so kind to pick it up and carry it to our labs..."  
  
"Yes, Majister, sir..." Gong said. He plodded over to the scrap and was about to pick it up, when...  
  
"HOLD IT!" came the inevitable scream. It was from Neera-Li, her face scrunched into a sneer of hatred, stomping her way over to the group, "This...theory you have of a man from an other world seems highly suspicious at best."  
  
Lilac went a silent pale. She knew the Majister would agree to this, even with her doubts, but Neera? Neera would do ANYTHING to put her and Carol behind bars. She hated thieves and always wanted things done her way. A pity people always seemed to listen to her and follow her without fail, just because she was an ex-Royal Adviser.  
  
The panda looked over to The Majister, a smug grin across her face, "If you would allow me to explain, Majister, I have a different theory in mind. This is nothing but an attempt from Mayor Zao to cover up the atrocity he committed against our Kingdom Stone. He must've offered you a generous reward to come here and make up this absurd story. After all..." her smug grin grew wider, "You can't resist money, Sash Lilac and Carol Tea..."  
  
"Keep that shit-eating grin on your face..." a very unstable Master growled, "SEE WHAT HAPPENS."  
  
"Oh? Am I getting to you?" Neera's smile vanished, "And if you would be so kind as to refer to me by my actual name. I was kind enough to refer to yours. You were quite the fortune tellers yesterday, so I wanted to see what made you tick. Some...individual helped me do a few background checks. Not only have the two of you been stealing crystal shards, you've been working for the same group that claimed responsibility for the stone's theft! The Red Scarves!"  
  
"Oh yeah, and YOU used to work for a moronic prince who's tried to lay waste to a good portion of the planet just because the other two won't share!" Master retorted, pointing his finger like his gun, "You don't work for him anymore, but I'll probably get a savage beating if I mention it. What makes YOU any better than us?!"  
  
"Irrelevant," Neera barked, "These people are criminals and spies, your Excellency!"  
  
"Hmm..." The Majister was calm and conductive, not jumping to any conclusions, "Is this so, Miss Lilac?"  
  
"Majister, please listen to us!" Lilac said calmly, "We are no longer members of the Scarves. We left a long time ago. We did what we had to do to survive, but we won't kill for it! What's the point of living if you extend yours by ending others?"  
  
"Hmm..." The Majister said, looking out of the window in deep contemplation, "If what you say is true, then by all means I shall examine the evidence and you can all go free. However, there is no known surefire evidence. And, quite sadly, you have an infamous killer among your ranks."  
  
"An infamous killer?" General Gong asked, "Who?"  
  
Everyone else, Lilac excluded, slowly turned to Master. His skin went pale, as did the glow of Blade go dim. Blade spoke in a panicked tone, "Ahh, shit, they figured it out!"  
  
Master was instead angry, turning to Torque, "YOU TOLD THEM?!"  
  
"No!" Torque yelped, "I swear I didn't!"   
  
"I guess it would be inevitable information about you and your deeds would be linked to our...information system," Neera said, "You of all people should know that buried secrets come up to haunt you someday."  
  
"But I'm beyond that, dammit!" Master pleaded, desperation in his voice, "I was young, I was stupid! You do stupid stuff when you're young! You've ALL done stupid stuff in your younger days! I'm trying to atone, trying to better myself, escape this wretched past of mine! And no-one can get in the way of that, including you! And I actually do respect you!" he saluted to The Majister, "Sir."  
  
"I cannot take any chances, Mister Traveller..." The Majister sighed, "Detain them until further notice. Make sure the Commander and his...'evidence' are properly quarantined."  
  
Neera's smug smile returned and she thrust her staff high into the air, sending ice particles screaming through the air. Above them, they slowly formed into cages of some kind, before falling to the ground. Almost no-one managed to escape them, capturing them in their large cold trapped fingers. Only Master managed to roll out of the way, but he was going nowhere with the flood of armed guards bursting out of the door-frame and into the room. Master had a look of shock, before it twisted back into its painkiller-induced rage.  
  
"Hey hey hey!" Torque called out, "Easy!"  
  
"Majister, please!" Lilac pleaded, banging on the icy bars, "We don't have the time for this!"  
  
"You're right..." The Majister sighed again, "Take them away, right now."  
  
The iced cages were slowly dragged away by armed guards, an anguished Torque screeching out, "Examine the fragment! EXAMINE IT!" before everyone was gone. This left Master, well-armed and incredibly angry, alone with the others.  
  
"What're you doing to them?" He demanded.  
  
"Nothing, Traveller," The Majister explained, "Just keeping them out of the way. We will make up our own minds about this."  
  
"And don't expect to get out," Neera said, her smug smile still there, "We've got enough about you and others to keep you locked away for a long time..."  
  
"...Alright," Master said, his voice quiet and restrained, "I've played good drugged-up to the point of passing out cop, but I've lost my patience. You're a toad, Majister, a weasel. A scheming, disinterested piece of fecal matter with all the charming grace of a spoiled rich kid from Station Square."  
  
"And what happened to respect?"  
  
"Lost it," Master growled, "Sent it packing. Gone...alright. Why am I still here? Am I getting a cell all to myself?"  
  
"No, you will join your friends soon enough," Neera growled too, "The fact they trust you even though they know of your past only helps prove my point, after all. We have a few things to remove from your person, first. Like your Blade and your gun."  
  
"You ain't getting your hands on me!" Blade yelled, defiant, "I will stick alongside my Master through thick and thin, right or wrong!"  
  
"Just as he said he would..." Neera mused, "Unfortunately, talking weapon, you need to come with us."  
  
"Like hell I will!" Blade said again, "Slugger, waste this waste!"  
  
"Neera, what're you doing?!" General Gong stated, "Both of you, stand down!"  
  
"Oh, PUSH OFF you fat sycophant!" Neera screamed, readying her staff, "I'm handling things around here! The Majister has given me full permission."  
  
"Only if she was proven right about you and Lilac," The Majister said quickly, "And she was. I'm sorry, Traveller. But I'm afraid your traveling days must end. Don't you want them to?"  
  
"Rotting in a jail cell?" Master said, keeping calm, "I don't think so. Just listen to us, we're not pulling your leg! If we don't band together, Brevon's gonna attach the Kingdom Stone to his ship's power supplies, giving it limitless energy. Then he'll head out into space, make a quick U-turn, and kill us all! And that's the best case scenario!"  
  
"We will have no more of this tat..." Neera growled, "Guards. Remove his weaponry and take him to the cells. Unless...you want to fight me?"  
  
"That is not a wise suggestion, Neera..." Majister said, "Perhaps you should reconsider."  
  
"Nonsense..." Master sighed, "I won't fight you. Just take me to the cells. I swear I won't use my weapons." He looked somewhat tired, turning around and heading back out the doors after the others.  
  
"Oh, you want to, don't you?" Neera called out, "That little part in you. Not fighting for some vague flimsy excuse to kill things? For shame, War Master."  
  
Master stopped dead in his tracks. His fists trembled and he slowly arched his head to Neera, "What...did you say?"  
  
"I knew that'd get something out of ya..." Neera grinned, "And now you probably wanna kill me. Just what your little sister would want."  
  
Something seemed to almost instantly snap in Master's mind and he was gone. He was seen sprinting at speeds almost invisible, past the guards and straight into Neera. He tacked her to the ground and clutched at her throat with his right hand, digging out his handgun and jamming it into her temple. His eyes had changed; no longer were they white with grey pupils, they were a pitch black with small red dots for pupils. The Majister quickly stepped backwards, the guards all closing in and pointing their spears.  
  
"Say that one more time..." Master said calmly, before shrieking, "SAY THAT ONE MORE FUCKING TIME! I want an excuse to paint the walls with your brains! If you even fucking HAVE ANY!"  
  
"Oh, this is perfect!" Neera gasped, "Just as easy to manipulate as he said you would be. All we're missing is the sneak attack."  
  
Master temporarily looked confused, before there was a thwack and his face fell. He collapsed, rolling off Neera and ending up spread across the floor. The Blade rolled out of his hand, only to be picked up by Neera via a claw on her Ice Staff.  
  
"No!" he called out.  
  
Neera smiled in a non-smug way, looking up at the soldier behind her, "Thanks, Captain."  
  
"Quack," replied the duck.  
  
"Right..." Neera said, holding the Blade at staff's length, "No-one touch this, it'll screw you up BIG time. Gotta admit, this cloaked fellow's plans are infallible. Told us everything we needed to know and do."  
  
"I hope this is for the best, Neera..." The Majister said.  
  
"Trust me, Your Excellency..." Neera said, casting an evil glare at the unconscious Master, "This will work perfectly..."  
  
===============  
A Good Hour Later  
===============  
  
Lilac sighed, an exasperated and pained sigh suitable for a pained and exasperated cell. It had been quite some time since she and the others had been locked up in the cells beneath Shang Tu. And, to put it lightly, they weren't the highest quality. In fact, they were a shambles; the cells were just a fancy way of saying that they were parts of the sewers originally used to store cargo during the Civil War, stripped of cargo and given bars so they could be laughably called cells. Still, it was all they had since the actual cells caved in when Shang Mu opened fire during that way, purely out of spite. Even though Shang Tu took no part in this war, they still sustained a lot of damages and were recovering even to this day,  
  
But it still burned in Lilac that the Majister could take this one opportunity to make Neera-Li of all people call the shots. The close-minded, petty supercop of the Shang Tu forces. The one who wanted to execute a good number of her fellow Scarves back in th day, even for something as meager as stealing an apple. There was no mercy with that vile creature, Lilac knew, no compassion; everyone had to suffer for their crimes. The only way to not look soft. Even Traveller, with his supposed history of doling nothing but painful death upon a cancerous multiverse, had a better sense of justice than her.  
  
Carol was also in the cell beside her, a small mound sitting in the corner of the room, but Milla and Torque were nowhere to be found. Torque had been taken somewhere, for reasons not known to Lilac, while Milla was...well, Milla was probably fighting slime monsters. She knew the layout of the sewers like the back of her hand, what with her living deep in them and all, and thus had dug into the area below to search for a way out. She has been gone for a long time so far, and Lilac was beginning to worry. Still, at least she wasn't cooped up in here with her and Carol.  
  
"This is insane!" Carol suddenly yelped, springing up from her slumped form, "We can't stay here! Otherwise Brevon's gonna kill every last one of us! Let's see that stupid panda girl keep her grin on when she's being chocked by a slave collar!"  
  
"Carol, that's not gonna help us..." Lilac sighed, "We need to get out of here. But we need to make sure Torque makes it out, too. And he's not even here. Think they put him in...'quarantine', or something."  
  
"Is that why we sent Milla into the sewers?" Carol asked.  
  
"Yeah. Kinda hoped she'd find a way out of here, but..." Lilac sighed, "Nothing. At least she hasn't been captured yet."  
  
There was a sudden clopping as footsteps sounded off from down the corridor. It was Neera, carrying a sniveling Milla by the scuff of her shirt, with Master slowly shuffling beside her. Milla was unharmed, but Master was not; he looked a wreck, with wild and unkempt quills and a bleeding ear. His jacket was gone and in its place was a straightjacket, fastened up tight. His scarf was also gone, putting his scarred face on show for all to see. The door to the cell screamed open and Neera threw both into the cell.  
  
"Nice try," Neera said, seemingly irritated and pointing to Milla, "That hound almost got scot-free, but that's not how we fly around here."  
  
"Why're you even keeping her locked up?" Carol asked, "She hasn't done anything."  
  
"You heard the Majister," Neera growled, "We can't take any chances. Besides, we've got word on the grapevine that there's a mole in the Royal Palaces. For all we know, she's part of Shang Mu's spies. We can't just let her walk away."  
  
"You can't do this!" Lilac called out, "We have rights!"  
  
"Not here, sister!" Neera's smug smile returned, "In Shang Tu, what we say goes. ALWAYS. Why'da think we've had the same leader for a good decade? And I like it here. I mean, that Shuigang prince was crazy. And I dislike crazy. But LOOOOVE order..." her smug grin grew wider again, "Well! No need for me to hang around. Enjoy your stay!"  
  
Lilac's face screwed up in rage as Neera left the room, chuckling all the way. There was a brief pause as everyone sat in the cell in awkward silence, before a cough gave Carol the opportunity to talk.  
  
"And what's wrong with you?" Carol asked, pointing to Master.  
  
"They weren't taking any chances..." Master sighed, "Skipped the painkillers and just tied me up like this. Took my weapons, too. In such a way as to make them virtually unobtainable."  
  
"Why?" Carol asked again, "Can't Blade, like, fly towards you or something?"  
  
"Yeah..." Master chuckled, "Provided he's outside a certain range. 'S why I didn't want you throwing him into the ravine? He's...cursed, so to say, to return to me once he breaches a good mile of my location. And they've put him in a heavily reinforced box...at a quarter of a mile. I ain't getting him back. Milla tried, but she couldn't lift the container."  
  
"I'm..." Milla sniffled, "I'm sorry..."  
  
"It's okay, kiddo..." Lilac sighed, hugging the scared hound for comfort, "We've all screwed up this time. Look, we need Torque outta here above all else. Maybe I can convince the others I'm still with the Red Scarves and say Torque was forced at spearpoint to work for us."  
  
"Nah, that won't work..." Master sighed, "Heard Neera and Gong talk about it. Said they won't allow such a flimsy and obvious excuse. Almost like they knew you were gonna try it!" his angry visage shifted to face them, "Yeah, that's what it is! It's like someone else has entered this universe and is giving them all the answers! The scumbag!"  
  
" **Nonsense...** " came a voice, this one crackly and distorted, " **I only seek to improve your lives and get this mission done in an...orderly fashion.** " the voice was getting louder, before a figure finally stepped in front of the cell. He, whatever he even was, was clad in a black cloak that hid all but his eyes, two pinprick dots swimming in a sea of inky blackness. Here was no hologram, but a flesh and blood mystery, " **Hello, fair travelers.** "  
  
"You..." Master stood up and faced the creature, "Who are you?"  
  
" **Chaos, why does everyone want to know my name?** " the figure replied, annoyed, " **For the last time, it's not important. All you need to know is, well yes, I HAVE been telling these peeps...uh, people, what's going on.** "  
  
"...Why?" Master asked exasperated, "That breaks No-Zone Multiverse Rule #592!"  
  
" **Multiverse Rule #592?** " the figure stifled a laugh, " **In an emergency situation involving two or more officers of equal rank, seniority will be granted to whichever officer can program a VCR?** "  
  
Master, red in the face, mumbled back, "Well, I suppose that WOULD be helpful in this universe. I was referring to the rule where no Multiverse Traveller can tell a universe's inhabitants the contents of its timeline in the off-chance it would create a temporal paradox!"  
  
" **That's Multiverse Rule #3972, you weren't even close!** " the figure said, " **And don't bother trying to use the No-Zone cops' logic. They're coffee-swilling pigs and you know it. Anyway, I'm not here to argue. I'm here to get you out of here.** "  
  
"...Come again?" Lilac asked, "Any particular reason you're helping us? And everyone else, too?"  
  
" **I provide a service,** " the figure said, digging into his cloak and taking out a bag, " **To whom and how many, I cannot say. You have your duties to attend to and so do I. I can't achieve my mission if you don't yours. Torque's been sent away from here due to the rumors of a mole. AKA, me. Their stupid scrambling should give you enough time to plot a course for scarper city. As long as you can make it past the Jade Creek, you're out of their jurisdiction and  you should be safe. But you better hurry! Brevon's mobilized his troops to look for him. Good day to you...and good luck.** "  
  
The figure turned and left, leaving the others on their own. Lilac took the bag and emptied it on the floor. Its contests were quite plentiful; there was bunch of red leaves, helpful considering Master's own state, and a mound crystals for good measure. Beyond that were Carol's motorbike keys and a note saying "PRESS THE WHITE BRICK". There was also Master's scarf, his jacket and some large black blocks. And finally was Master's own gun, a good five spare magazines...and The Blade of Hysteria itself."  
  
"Blade!" Master called out in joy, "You're back!"  
  
"Slugger!" Blade replied in a similarly joyous way, "You're not dead! Though you do seem a bit...tied up. Let me get that." The weapon floated up into the air and swiped across the suit's joints, freeing Master's trapped limbs. He removed the suit with gusto, slamming his clothing back on and holstering both weapons. Carol herself had pressed brick in the cell that had been painted white, opening a nearby wall and shoving a ruby red motorbike out.  
  
"My bike!" Carol called out, "How did it get here?"  
  
"That cloaked fellow..." Milla said, her tone somewhat quiet, "Should we really trust him?"  
  
"We don't have a choice," Lilac said, quickly eating one of the red leaves, "We need to find Torque and get back on track. We HAVE to get the Kingdom Stone back from Brevon, or we're all either dead or his slaves."  
  
"Just like Prince Dail..." Carol sighed.  
  
"That cloaked fellow sure isn't from around here," Master said, looking at the blocks, "C-4. A powerful, remote-detonated explosive. Should be enough to blow the wall, provided Milla shields us from the fragments. Then we're free. Come on, girls! Let's blow this dump!"  
  
======================  
Another Five Minutes Later  
======================  
  
Carol shouldn't shake the feeling that had suddenly become a massive mistake on her's and Lilac's part. Like, all of it. A good few days ago, she and her were planning a final truck robbery, one that would set them up for life. A day after, she was eating the tastiest sushi she had ever tasted with a brand new friend, and NOW she was running from the Shang Tu Police Force at the fastest speeds she had ever gone on her bike. She was working the poor thing into overdrive, exhaust belching flame to keep in front of the fuzz. The vehicle chasing them was a hovercraft, zooming across the water with impressive speed, with the duck soldier at the helm and Neera herself riding on top of it. She looked angry, her rage directed at their impossibly fast escape, and she was firing her ice staff all the way. The heroes were dashing their way across the riverbank, unable to advance into the jungle owing to its masses of brambles jammed into its side. The only way was forward, and Carol complied by slamming the bike into its highest gear and zooming off with a boost. Lilac, Milla and Master were not not far off, Lilac way out in front, dodging missiles and blasts of ice from Neera's staff and the hovercraft itself. Master himself was running headstrong, not looking back, while carrying the young hound once more so she could fend off the various attacks using her own powers. Even now she had been able to deflect one of the missiles with her shield and divert it into the water, smacking into the hovercraft and causing it to thrash around in the water to the accord of almost throwing Neera off.  
  
"Lilac, we need a plan!" Carol called out, "We can't keep running like this! This river leads to a huge waterfall!"  
  
"We have to keep moving!" Lilac called out too, "Otherwise the world is doomed!"  
  
"We can stop, we just need to get this hovercraft off our backs!" Master yelled back, "Throwing Neera off might create the right diversion. Milla, this is going to take everything you have! You okay with that?"  
  
"What'm I going to do?" Milla asked, curling into Master's arms to avoid the blasts.  
  
"You're gonna make the biggest, most powerful laser you've ever made," Master grinned, holding Blade backwards so the gem was facing outwards, "Just grab this gem and brace yourself."  
  
"No!" Blade called out, "Slugger, we can't do that! Remember what happened with that alternate Amy?"  
  
"I know! But we don't have any other choice!" Master quickly turned to Milla, "You ready, kid?"  
  
Milla nodded. Blade sighed and the gem on the base of his handle extended on a rod. Milla took a deep breath and clasped the glowing artefact in her hand. An almost indescribable amount of energy  shot up into Milla, and she yelped with the shock. Every cell in her body was filling to burst with energy and she felt like she was burning up. Screaming, she thrust both hands at the hovercraft and braced her upper body for the shock. What could only be described as a laser the size of tree trunk screamed across the sky and slammed into the hovercraft, tipping it up and throwing it high into the air. Neera was thrown off, flung into the sky before landing with a soft splash. All still on dry land counted their blessings and rushed forwards, eventually stopping at the waterfall in question.  
  
"We made it!" Carol said, stopping her bike and staring into the watery abyss below them, "This waterfall marks the limits of Shang Tu!"  
  
"Then we're safe," Master sighed, setting the panting hound down, "Good. How're you holding up, kid?"  
  
"F-Fine..." Milla whimpered, her voice weak, "Just...just let me rest..."  
  
"What even was that?" Lilac asked.  
  
"My powers are, for lack of a better word, spreadable," Blade began to explain, "I can channel my energies into another host should they be physically touching me. However, we don't actually USE this often. Because...well, you know what they say, power corrupts."  
  
" **Indeed it does!** " came the same garbled voice from the cells, only now interspersed with the sound of spinning blades, like a helicopter. The group looked out over the waterfall and some sort of flying machine slowly lifted up from the edge of the waterfall and hovered before them. The cloaked creature was in the machine, leaning out the open door with his spiked teeth grinning in the moonlight. And, much to their horror, he had found Torque. He looked weak, with a large gash across his body and a few darts in him as well. He was being carried by some green orb robot into the flying machine, soon vanishing within it.   
  
Lilac screamed out in horror, "NO! Torque!"  
  
"I KNEW something was up!" Milla whimpered, "I just knew it!"  
  
"You were using us, weren't you buddy?" Carol growled, her anger peaking, "Distract the soldiers while you ran off with Torque!"  
  
" **I told you I couldn't tell you who I was working with!** " the figure spoke again, " **Now, you've got a good seven seconds to swear allegiance to Lord Brevon or we'll blast you out of your boots!** "  
  
"What're we gonna do?" Master asked, "Either we get captured by Shang Tu's forces, OR we get captured by Brevon, OR we break every bone in our body jumping down this waterfall."  
  
"...Bones heal," Lilac said wearily, grabbing the wrists of the others, "Let's go!"  
  
"Wait, Lilac, NO!" was all Carol could get out before the group slowly fell down the edge of the waterfall. Their screams were drowned out by the rushing water and soon they were gone from sight. The cloaked figure sighed, climbing back into the flying machine and shutting the door behind him. Torque had been tied up by some of Brevon's soldiers and was now stood in the corner of the area.  
  
" **Torque, buddy boy!** " the figure said, his voice now jovial beyond the crunchiness, " **Nice to finally meet you!** "  
  
"What're you gonna do to me?" Torque asked, his will still solid, "You can't be working with Brevon!"  
  
" **Not full time, no...** " the figure reached for his own hood, cackling all the while, " **I've my own agenda. And they involve you. But before I knock you out cold and wait for the inevitable rescue from Lilac...I want you to see my face.** "  
  
Finally, the hood fell, and Torque's face fell with shock, "No...no! You can't be here! Traveller said he had abandoned you in the tundras of Exol 7! It can't be!"  
  
" **But I am! And it can be! In fact, it IS! HAHAHAHAHA!!!** "  
  
===  
???  
===  
  
Lilac was the first to awaken. Her ribs hurt and there seemed to be a little bit of blood right in front of her, but otherwise she was okay. She looked around, groaning in pain. The group's descent down the waterfall had save them from both Brevon's and The Majister's forces, and now they were at the bottom of the waterfall, slowly drifting towards the shore. She sighed happily; her actions were drastic and...well, suicidal, but they were safe! For real, this time!  
  
"Guys..." Lilac groaned, slowly getting to her knees, "I think we've made it."  
  
"You think?" Master sighed, coming too, "What the hell was THAT, Lilac?"  
  
"Yeah!" Carol growled, "You could've killed us!"  
  
"I'm sorry, guys..." Lilac shrugged, "But it was all I could think to do. We've got out of worse scrapes before...right? Hey, chins up! At least we escaped the police."  
  
"Yeah, for a good five minutes..." came an all too fa miler voice from behind them. Lilac went into shock overdrive, looking behind her. It was Neera, her grin gone and replaced with a majestic scowl, "This has gone beyond fun, now."  
  
"No!" Lilac said, tears in her eyes from the stress, "Please, stay back!"  
  
"This is only gonna end up one way, Thief!" Neera barked, advancing towards the waterlogged dragon, "And you're only conscious - nay, ALIVE - in one of 'em!"  
  
"Stop this!" Milla wailed, jumping in front of Neera, "We're innocent! Why waste time going after us? Go after Brevon! Torque told you everything you need to know!"  
  
Neera raised her hand and brought down a mighty slap across Milla's face, sending the hound flying and rolling into the water beside her. Master screamed something indecipherable out of rage and got to his knees, his hands tightening into fists. He looked like his was in pain, clutching at his head and crying out in agony. Neera ignored him and resumed her walk towards Lilac, staff grasped firmly in hands.  
  
"A loada junk and nothing else!" Neera called back, "Your cloaked friend set us up just as much as he did you! I lost the eyes of a good man during his escape! Now you will stand down or I WILL use lethal force!"  
  
"You can't do this!" Lilac called out.  
  
"But I CAN!" Neera said for the final time, "And I WILL! My patience has run thin! Goodbye, dragon girl!"  
  
Lilac, even with her body in its physical prime, was too exhausted by the running and collision to get up and run. She only shut her eyes and began to hope for the best...  
  
Then, there was a sound. A disgusting, visceral sound that was mixed with what seemed to be Neera yelling out in pain. She opened her eyes and saw Neera, staff dropped in shock, patting at a rather large stab wound in her chest. Nearby her was Master, upright and still. To Lilac, he had changed to the point of being frightening; his body was more-or-less the same, but all of the colour had drained out. His body was glowing a pure white from head to foot, with exceptions; his scarf was still the blood red colour it always was, but almost every other part of him was a bright white light. His limbs from the mid-joints upwards were covered in blood, fresh blood seemingly, and his eyes were now a bleeding black void with pinprick red dots for pupils. Finally was Blade, covered in blood and muck, his own design changed to a more demonic and bloody type. He was leaning slightly, like a zombie, with otherworldly breathing sounds escaping his throat.  
  
" **No more...** " he growled with a voice more demonic than a thousand devils, " **Neera-Li, your time is up.** "  
  
Neera's face only showed some sort of vague shock, which quickly gave way to anger. She stopped plugging up her wound and attacked, swinging wildly with her ice staff. This proved most ineffective, as Master simply dodged and swung Blade with full force. To Lilac's amazement, it cleaved through the heavy metal staff with almost no resistance, like a knife through hot butter. This...creature then grabbed Neera in a choke hold, holding Blade just before her neck. She spat some blood at him;  
  
"Go to Hell..."  
  
The creature only looked her dead in the eyes and swung with all his might. The Blade once again cleaved through her neck with little trouble at all, leaving almost no blood and but a thin red line across Neera's throat. A small gurgle escaped and then the head fell, separated completely from her body, landing with a splash in the once pure lakes. The creature looked at the headless body and discarded it, growling something of his own;  
  
" **Already been there...wasn't worth it...** "  
  
The creature looked back at the girls; Lilac's jaw was somewhere around her knees and Carol looked like she was going to be sick from the shock of it all. Thankfully Milla was still knocked out and had not seen the action. The creature sighed, looked down shamefully, and passed out. He landed in water face-up, the colours of his form slowly regaining colour and becoming Master once again. Lilac was still standing, bodies everywhere, as the rain began to fall.  
  
"What do we do?" Carol asked, looking at Lilac, "What do we DO?!"  
  
"I DON'T KNOW!" Lilac screamed back, keeping Carol shocked and shivering. She looked over into the plains behind her, the rivers stretching into the distance...and she began to weep.  
  
"I don't know..."


	8. Sound of Madness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DeviantART Link: https://masterperrymartin.deviantart.com/art/Freedom-Dies-With-Me-CHAPTER-7-559057667

Lilac was, to put it lightly, quite bothered about this situation. It was a good five or so minutes since Master's... _brutal_  actions against Neera-Li, and the only conscious members of the team had to move in-land to escape any potential backup from Shang Tu. With a wrecked hovercraft and a dead warrior in their wake, even the range of the city limits would never be enough to escape them now. It had taken a while, but they had managed to awaken Milla and rush through the forest, dragging the still conked out Master by his arms. The rain, first falling after the attack, was now in full swing and pounding down on the outside word like tiny bombs. It certainly soaked Lilac and Carol to the bones as they limped and dragged their way to shelter. Eventually, they stopped in a nearby cave, a tiny one overlooking the nearby lake that the waterfall was connected to, and decided to set up camp for the night.  
  
Lilac was sitting deep in the cave; shivering, miserable, hugging herself for comfort and warmth. Carol was sitting by the entrance to the cave, looking out towards the lake, from which a red glow was slowly emitting. Master was slumped over in the corner, wrapped up tight in vines scavenged nearby for everyone's protection. Milla, finally, was sitting next to Lilac. She was slowly munching on some leftover sushi she had stashed on her person; it was soggy, but it still tasted alright. Lilac herself was silent, letting the crackling fires invade her haunted thoughts. She was strong but still close to tears, worn down by the stress; how did this all happen? One day she was a normal dragon, saving the day with her friends and hanger-ons, the next she's a madwoman on the run with a temper-trigger killer on their team. Lilac could only stare at the tied up killer in question and only hope he was still on their side. After all, he seemed nice enough to begin with, so he couldn't be ALL bad...right?  
  
"Lilac..." Carol growled, staring out into the open and moist air, "I think I'm done."  
  
"D-" Lilac stammered, trying to keep the tears back, "Don't say that, Carol. We can't be done now. We need to...we need to get Torque back-"  
  
"SCREW TORQUE!" Carol shrieked, "And screw Maste-Traveller...SCREW HIM TOO! All those two bozos have done is get us into scrapes and fights and trouble without fail!"  
  
"Wha...what's going on?"  
  
"But that's not true," Lilac said, "General Gong listened to us, Mayor Zao listened to us. And The Majister was going to listen to us-"  
  
"If not for that freakin' panda, I know!" Carol called out, "But are those who DID listen to us? What kind of pedigree do either have? General Gong, a strong and mindless brute who'd rather eat lunch than fight, and Mayor Zao, an egomaniac extremo who's only in power because he screws with any potential competitors and gets his army to crush anyone who looks at him funny!"  
  
"Girls? Why've you tied me up?  
  
"We have to keep trying!" Lilac blurted out, desperately racking her brain, "Heroes get admonished by the important people all the time! But they power through with their heroic ways and save the day!"  
  
"Girls..."  
  
"And stop with the hero rubbish!" Carol continued, "We're not hero material. We've almost died on no less than three occasions. I mean, almost becoming a pancake in a crumbling temple only to be saved by some stupid superdog? Fine, I'll give you that one(!) But going down on a ship AND being forcedly flung off a waterfall? No thanks! No thanks and no more!"  
  
"Girls!"  
  
"Carol, please, don't do this!" Lilac pleaded.  
  
"Ahh screw it. Cover your ears, kiddo."  
  
"Don't do what?" Carol barked a final time, "Leave? Go back to the treehouse? Stop taking part in this stupid pointless adventure? I'm not fighting for a group of cities that hate us, for a group of royal miscreants - born into power from lies and wars - that couldn't rule a freaking LINE!"  
  
Carol got no more out as a vicious crack whipped the air. Both girls recoiled with the shock and turned to the source of the sound. It was Master, smoking gun held high in the air and snapped vines draped across his shoulders. His expression bore the same angry snarl it always did at this point, a suitable growl permeating his voice, "Finally. Thought I'd never get your attention. All this hot air isn't gonna get us anywhere."  
  
"Oh, I DARE to concur!" Carol challenged, stepping forwards and jabbing her finger into Master's chest, "Your hot air got us somewhere. Specifically, HERE. In this dingy cave on the run from the law because you couldn't curb your bloodlust!"  
  
"You're right, I couldn't," Master sighed, "But let me explain-"  
  
"No! No more explanations! No more backstories!" Carol screamed, swiping her hand for emphasis, "NO MORE ANYTHING! I'm done with this heroine stuff! I'm done with getting all these wounds for the sake of some stupid crystal ball! I'm done with Lilac and her always upbeat suicidal bent! I'm done with Milla and her annoying puppy dog eyes! I'm done with you and your overpowered "donut steal" disgraces! **I'M! DONE!** "  
  
Carol's final screams echoed across the forest, bouncing off the trees and across the plains. Lilac had stayed silent, close to tears again, while Milla was clutching her ears and sobbing. Master, on the other hand, looked annoyed if anything else. He didn't shout, he didn't scream, he didn't even try to attack Carol like he had with Neera. He was completely calm, like the attack at the waterfall had drained him of his pent up rage. He only turned to Carol with a soft growl;  
  
"Done, are you? Listen up, Casual, 'cause I'm pretty sure this will be the only real education you've ever had in your entire life; this is your fight. It doesn't matter who you are, what you do, why you do it or even what side you're on. Every last bugger on this planet, and every other populated planet, has to pick up a weapon and fight at some point. Sometimes you don't ever stop. But you still have to do it. You can run away, but that's one less fighter on the field, one less soldier giving it their all. And when the enemy wins because of it, it won't be long until they find the ones who abandoned their fellows and...punish 'em for it. You think you can just walk away from this, but wait until Brevon charges up his batteries and brings the full force of his army down on you. Watch him smile as a brainwashed Milla tears out your throat, just for the sheer horror of it."  
  
"You're lying!" Carol said, her composure softening, "He'd never do that? Not EVERYONE has to fight."  
  
"He would," Master continued, "And they do. You want out, though? That's fine. Leave. Abandon your lifelong friend to save your own skin, pretend you don't have a part in all this. It won't help you when you're pleading for your life. I know what men like Brevon are capable of, the very worst things a creature can do."  
  
"Like what you did, War Master?" Carol snapped back. Master went silent, his hands balling up into fists, "Oh yeah, I know that. Heard Neera mention it when we were lined up in the waiting room for time to prepare the cells. It proves my point, though; I mention you by your even dumber old name and suddenly you want to hit me. What a 'noble' and 'heroic' thing to do, huh? Traveller, Saviour of the downtrodden, a wronged man on a mission! Killing respected members of authority and having to restrain himself from bestowing it on others. Neera was right...your sister would be ashamed of you."  
  
Master said no more, merely turning away and silently watching the fire from the corner he was originally sat in. Carol turned to leave.  
  
"Carol, please don't do this..." Lilac pleaded one last time.  
  
"Don't..." Carol said, her own voice laced with sadness, "I'm...I'm just done. Goodbye, Sash Lilac."  
  
Carol sighed a final time only getting on her bike and riding off into the darkness, the growling of her bike slowly vanishing into the roar of the rain. Lilac sighed and hobbled back over to the fire, slamming back down onto the cold and unforgiving rock and listening to the crackling of the flames before her. Her face was stable for a good second before she broke down, sobbing relentlessly and grabbing the confused and also crying Milla for comfort. Master too had sat down, sighing and dragging a bottle of some sort of alcohol out of his spacious pockets, wringing the bottle's cap free and taking a hearty swig. He cast a quick glance at both girls, before looking at the bottle in his hand. He sighed, getting up and sitting back down next to Lilac, before moving the bottle over to her.  
  
Lilac's own face softened, looking at the bottle, "What is it?"  
  
"I think its absinthe," Master said, "Strong little number, it is. Has rumors about its supposed ability to drive whoever drinks it crazy, or at least give them vivid hallucinations. It doesn't, obviously, but it at least feels like I have an excuse for my stupidity every now and again. 'Cause, Lilac, tell me straight...did I glow white when Neera slapped Milla? Did I...did I kill Neera?"  
  
Lilac nodded, stifling another sob.  
  
"No..." Master growled, setting the bottle down. Lilac could sense he was angry, furious even, but only at himself. For losing his temper and taking another life when he wanted to stop. Lilac took the bottle from him, as he allowed, and took a quick drink from it. A strong wave of aniseed struck her throat, but she managed to keep it down. It certainly helped, at least a little bit, and her sobbing ceased. She wisely kept the bottle from Milla, though.  
  
"So...seeing as we're alone..." Lilac said, taking another drink, "I have a few questions. What was that white form? Why did Carol and Neera call you War Master? And who was your sister?"  
  
Master sighed, a single tear soaking into his scarf before he removed it and his jacket, "Well..." another sigh, "Fuck it. There's no point in hiding it anymore. It's time I told you...everything. About my mission, about my past...about my sister."  
  
Lilac stood up, taking the bottle with her, and sitting opposite Master by the fire. Milla stayed where she was, splayed out on the floor in a relaxed manner, watching Master eerily. Lilac took another swig, "Begin..."  
  
"Well..." Master sighed, "To begin with, that white form is what they call Hysteria. You know, after Blade's...inhabitant."  
  
"At first, anyway," Blade said from within his holster, "Then even I couldn't control Master's absurd self-loathing and anger issues. Originally, if he got angry enough, like REAL mega furious, he would fall unconscious and I would take over. I would destroy or remove the problem and then give control back. The form temporarily releases power limits, so he's incredibly powerful...bit of a shame it drains your lifespan like nothing on Mobius. He can only REALLY do it once every 24 hours; any more and his heart would literally explode from the stress and power."  
  
"And who controls him now?" Lilac asked,  
  
"Remnants of his...original personality," Blade said, feigning a sigh, "Slugger, tell her."  
  
"Carol and Neera referred to me as 'War Master', and they have all possible reason for doing so..." Master sighed, "Look, the memories are a bit...fuzzy at the moment, but I'll try my best. There are these people across the multiverse, myself included, called MasterSelves. We are normal people, born in complete suburbia, but we are selected by these powerful gods called Elder Masters to be the creators of a whole universe. We don't HAVE to control their every movement, we only need to create them and make sure they stay stable. As a half-MasterSelf, I only gained control of someone else's, someone who wanted to throw in the towel. With me so far?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Good. When I was young, first using Blade, first working as a half MasterSelf, I used my powers as a physical god to revive someone in my family. I couldn't bring back anyone already dead, it was against the Elder Masters' rules. But they said I could use it on people who never really had a chance at life; unfertilized eggs, sperm that didn't make it. So, I decided to revive my sister, who had died at childbirth. Her name was Amber. And she was the best sister ever..."  
  
"Sounds like a nice thing to do," Lilac said, smiling, "Give someone without a life a chance at living it...so...what happened to her?"  
  
"...Delago..." Master growled, "A rogue MasterSelf and a vile man to boot. Always one of those type who always saw wonder and whimsy in the dead and dying. He's the only guy I know who could cut someone's arm off and derive...pleasure...from it. Sickening. But yeah...he got Amber. Dragged her off to his lab deep in the Snow Caps, stuck her in a water tank and watched her flail, fumble and scream and beg for air. By the time I had managed to gather up some other MasterSelves and storm the place...well."  
  
"She died..." Lilac sighed, "Drowned. While Delago watched, I'm assuming?"  
  
"With a freaking smile on his face," Master said, his own voice beginning to crack, "A thousand voices screamed and cackled in my head as I could only watch Amber's final breaths escape her body. Then the voices screeched at me and I screeched alongside them, dying. I blacked out. By the time I regained conscious, Delago was dead on the ground and I was covered in blood. Something had come over me. Something had snapped like a dry twig. I felt no pain, no anguish. Only a maddening, monstrous...wonderful rush of anger. Bloodlust sat on my brain like a fat hippo on a swan, disgusting thoughts swarmed my mind. I wanted to kill, I wanted to punish, to kill the filth and grime that inhabited the multiverse for the travesty of letting my sister die on their watch. For the travesty of letting this Delago live to allow this to happen. I wanted to slice the entire multiverse in two, not out of this feigned justice...but because I wanted to."  
  
"We went crazy," Blade said too, "Really, REALLY crazy."  
  
"I became fascinated with the act of vigilante justice, of killing anyone and everyone to do what my warped brain would consider the right thing. But, even under all that rage, all that bloodlust and hatred...I just wanted my sister back. At first, anyway. I used what little sanity I had left to figure out a way to...revive her. Again. There was this world that, at one point, was almost drained of its energy by these extinct warlords called Zetis. I decided to...invade one of their alternate timelines, kill the Zetis, leave the world below to rot and use the energy to revive my sister...it didn't work. All that effort, billions dead, a species extinct...and the Elder Masters said NO."  
  
"And I guess..." Lilac stumbled, "I guess you lost what was left, renamed yourself War Master and went off across the multiverse killing for the sake of it."  
  
Right," Master sighed, "It's just...not something I'm proud of. But hey, everyone's capable of the madness, given the correct scenario."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"It's all based on something I like to call...The Sound of Madness theory. Everyone hears that little voice in their head every now and again, don't they? That little baritone buzz in the back of your brain, the one that wants you to cause so much misery. The voice that wants you to yell, to punch, to steal...to kill. The average person would just ignore it...but all you need is one bad day...and that voice becomes your own."  
  
Lilac looked reflective, before a sorrowful lightbulb flashed in her head, "Well...that explains a lot about you, then. I'm pretty sure that the Master you say you are...is not the Master I'm speaking to. You're that voice, aren't you? The real Master's been dead for the Great Dragon knows how long."  
  
Master made no attempt to hide this and sighed wearily, "I...wish I could say you were wrong...but yeah. I've tried, oh how I've TRIED to be like him...but it's hard..."  
  
"What're you saying?" Milla asked, looking up from the floor, "Is the real Master...d-...d-"  
  
"The real Master died and I took his place," Master sighed a final time, "Mentally, anyway. I was his dark thoughts, his crueler desires given physical form. The hatred, the rage, the disgrace of it all. I was him. And I...I killed him. My first murder."  
  
"But..." Milla said again, "You've been really nice to us. You've been polite to us and Torque. You've been our friend."  
  
"But only after several years of being the kind of crazy warlord that would make Brevon blush," Blade retorted.  
  
"So what happened?" Lilac asked, "Since when have you tried to atone?"  
  
"The Knight Island incident," Master explained, "It was a good year after what the Elder Masters called "The Fall of the Primeverse", and I just...ran out of steam. I used up all my energy destroying a universe purely for the sake of doing so, with Genesis Wave devices to alter the fabric of reality. My thoughts became clearer. I became more rational. The bloodlust finally subsided. I tried to help more people than I killed. This time was helping a young girl escape the clutches of this depraved Delago, his essence given another physical form by my waning insanity. He vanished thanks to being wiped from reality with something they called Chronos Energy and I had no energy left for resistance. They took me in and I was face to face with those Elder Masters. They called me a disgrace, wiped my powers and spent me spiraling into exile.   
  
"Notice the one thing they DIDN'T do..." Blade pointed out.  
  
Lilac thought for a good second, "...Uh...OH! They didn't wipe your memory!"  
  
"And then, finally, it all clicked back into place," Master said, "This was my punishment; I could remember every last thing I had done, in perfect clarity. The guilt and the regret...it almost drove me crazy a second time. But, with the help of some old friends of mine, I defeated the inner demons and...moved on. It was then I decided that I couldn't just return to my duties. I had terrorized these people for a good year and a half, and I was going to pay for every last second of agony I had bestowed onto them. Isn't that right, Blade?"  
  
"Yeah..." Blade said, his voice tired, "I had stuck with him through everything. I shared his bloodlust. I was the God of War to those Hellblood people, so it's fair to say I drove him to insanity. I reveled in the bloodshed just as much as he did. But then he stopped and slowed down, and forced me to slow down too. I could suddenly see the misery we were bestowing onto the millions, if not billions we had attacked. I'm a God, and I enjoy slaughter as much as the next guy, but innocent people? They shouldn't have to die for the sake of a few bad guys. If they even were."  
  
"Well..." Lilac said, "You tried. You took the law into your hands and got things done, no matter what. Sparing innocents, killing the guilty, going against those who oppose you no matter what. It's what heroes do! Justice!"  
  
"Is that what it is, Lilac?" Master asked, "Is that what they call it? Justice? Just because I don't kill for those crystals that makes me a more moral killer than Spade?"  
  
There was a brief pause, each person staring deep into the fire, before Milla spoke up, "What're we gonna do about Torque?"  
  
"We have to get Torque and the Stone back," Lilac said, the determination returning to her voice, "Otherwise we're all doomed. And I know just how to do it."  
  
"How?" Milla asked.  
  
"Well, we passed the lake on the way here, right?" Lilac explained, "Brevon's base is there. A big, red steel monster rising out of the waters. Used to belong to Mayor Zao for offshore energy generation, until the Civil War happened and Prince Dail bombed the place. Brevon's seemingly rebuilt it and using it as a place for backup energy. Tomorrow, at the crack of dawn, I'm going in. Storming the gates, as it were."  
  
"Hmm," Master said, "Sounds like a good idea."  
  
"Alone."  
  
"And that's even bette-WHAT?!"  
  
"Lilac, please don't go by yourself!" Milla pleaded, "It's too dangerous!"  
  
"She's right," Blade said, "If Torque said the truth, he's got an army capable of glassing an entire planet! Facing them alone would be idiotic, if not outright suicidal!"  
  
"I can't take the risks!" Lilac said, "I can't risk Milla getting killed. And I can't risk your Blade falling into the wrong hands. What if Brevon gets a hold of it? A crazy, monstrous, god-like Brevon! The whole universe could be at risk!"  
  
"...Fine," Master sighed, "Tomorrow, I'll take Milla someplace safe and find Casual."  
  
"Casual?"  
  
"Carol. You know, I was making a pun."  
  
"Casual...Casual Tea?" Blade asked, groaning, "Chaos, that joke was horrible!"  
  
"Look, don't worry about me, either of you!" Lilac said, standing up with a triumphant look on her face, "I'm the hero of this story! I've gotta save Torque and beat the villain! I can do this!"  
  
"...How?"  
  
Lilac looked blank, staring at the infernal weapon that had asked her this. Her mind raced to find an answer, but nothing came no matter what. She slowly and gingerly sat down and stared deep into the fire. Master knew this was the end of tonight's conversation and as such settled down to sleep himself. Milla crawled over to him and rested on top of him, head buried within his deep fluffy scarf. It took another hour of staring at the fire until the rain outside finally stopped. Lilac looked outside and decided to check out the base. She gingerly crept past the two sleepers and then briskly jogged off into the woods. Soon the vast blue lake slipped into view and Lilac skidded to a stop, heels digging into the ground slightly. From there she could look out over the pristine waters, albeit with traces of thick sludge pouring into it. She became disgusted at this pollution and looked out to the thermal base in the distance. It was red and domed, made of only the strongest metals and indeed pouring the sludge out from its pipes. She sat by the edge of the water, boots licking the surface of the water, until she noticed another set of blue-clawed feet join her. She looked up and there was the Half-Zeti Franky, sitting beside her with what appeared to be a rib in his hand.  
  
"'Sup, dragon girl?"  
  
"Franky?" Lilac asked in shock, "How're you here? I'm not asleep...am I?"  
  
"No..." Franky said, his voice high-pitched, "Best guess, you're talking to empty space right now. Still, you've gotta be lucky to get the most...handsome hallucination this side of the multiverse!"  
  
Lilac had a quick chuckle at this, but her head sunk to the floor again, staring at the slowly blackening waters. Franky noticed this adopted a sad look of his own.  
  
"Oh, Lilly. You look more down than an empty stomach. What's wrong, girl?"  
  
"Am I...am I insane?" Lilac asked, staring the not-quite-there Franky in the eyes, "I mean this is just crazy! Look at me! I thought I could be a hero, save the day! Now I've gotta fight the killer of a thousand planets and his army of unfeeling killers! I just...what was I thinking?"  
  
"You were only doing the best, girl," Franky said, flashing a toothy grin, "Remember, Torque wouldn't be able to do this all on his own, would he? Had you not saved him back in the Dragon Valley, he'd be a delicious smear on the ground by now!"  
  
"I guess..." Lilac said, "I did help him get this far. But look at where it's got him now! In Brevon's base, probably being tortured into serving him as I speak."  
  
"Then get him outta there!" Franky said, "Bust his backside to freedom! If it wasn't for you, he'd never get out. With you, though...he has a chance. A chance he'd never get otherwise."  
  
"You think so?" Lilac asked, "You think I can do it by myself?"  
  
"Hell yeah I can!" Franky said happily, "You need to believe in yourself, Lilac old girl! Just tell yourself! YOU. CAN. DO THIS!"  
  
"I can..." Lilac said, "I can do this...hell, I WILL do this!"  
  
"Atta girl!" Franky yelled, slapping Lilac across the back. Surprisingly, she felt the slap and she recoiled, "Sorry. Guess your mind makes it real after all. Now, don't worry about those other two! Just go and get Brevon! Save Torque. Save the day! Hell, save the WORLD!"  
  
"I WILL!" Lilac yelled, throwing herself to her feet and posing dramatically, "I just have to remember what even I said; it's gonna take more than robots and aliens to slow THIS dragon down!" she turned to Franky, "Thanks for the pep talk, Franky!"  
  
"You're welcome!" Franky said, "Now go get 'em, slugger!"  
  
Lilac nodded and dragon boosted away, skimming across the water and soon vanishing under it. Franky chuckled and sat back down, grabbing one of the hallucination fish in the water. He wasted no time with it either, downing the whole thing in a single go. He swallowed the thing whole and sighed with the satisfaction, "Ahhh...it feels good to help people."  
  
"Funny, really..." came a demented voice, "The REAL Franky would do almost NOTHING of the sort."  
  
Franky turned his head to see a figure shadowed in the trees. He did not need to see it in detail to know that it was War Lilac, and she stumbled out of the shrubbery almost on cue. She looked even more ragged than ever, with good parts of her clothing missing and a few gashes lining her body. Her face, once twisted into an ever-maniacal grin, was now fading and forming a pained frown.  
  
"Oh..." Franky sighed, "It's you again. What's got you down in the mouth?"  
  
"Take your pick," War Lilac growled, "Either I'm not looking forward to the torture part OR I'm getting weaker because Master is managing to do avert my existence and doing an okay-ish job of it?"  
  
"Okay-ish?" Franky asked incredulously, "He killed Neera in cold blood!"  
  
"Exactly," War Lilac grinned, "There's still a bit of War Master in him, somewhere. As he said, all it takes is one BAD day...and he'll be free. The universe won't need me anymore."  
  
"Why?" Franky asked again, "There's a multiverse, it goes on forever. You'll still exist...right?" War Lilac said nothing, before Franky quickly flashed a devious grin at it, "Heh. Looks like old Traveller will get the better of you after all. I mean, it's not like you can do anything about it."  
  
"And neither can you," War Lilac said, pointing a clawed finger, "You're a hallucination, a vision, nothing real! I'm...so much more! Why ask? What do YOU think I'm here for?"  
  
"I'd be lying  if I said I knew," Franky said, "But I know why I'M here. Much like my old friend, I've got some deeds I need to get off my chest."  
  
"Ahh that's rich!" War Lilac said, laughing, "Oh, and also not true. You're not the REAL Franky. You're just as much a product of the mind as anyone else. You're what Master WANTS him to be like; like him. Stable, smart, an atoner. The REAL Franky is anything but."  
  
"Like?"  
  
"Andrea, remember her?" War Lilac accused, "Your own sister. Tore her to shreds for the glory of the Zetis. Drained the world dry of its energies, tore the arm off of the blue hedgehog himself! And then watched as War Master ruined your world and made you...the last..." Franky was silent, "Wait, there's more! What about Catherine? What about killing those helpless party-goers? What about...that night of debauchery?"  
  
"I didn't even do that last one!" Franky called out, "That was another universe altogether! I KILLED that Franky for his evil ways!"  
  
"No the REAL Franky did that," War Lilac growled, "Now, if you excuse me, I tire of this pointless charade of ours. I must prepare. For what? Well, for anything. You never know these days, do you?"  
  
"Okie Dokie, War Lilac!" Franky spat mockingly, " _War Lilac_. You don't deserve that name! At least I TRY to help people. At least I have a good excuse for doing what I do."  
  
"I'd hardly call abusive parents and Zeti bullies a good excuse..." War Lilac sneered.  
  
"At least I HAVE one! I'm merely-"  
  
"You're MERELY a mockery of a serial killer almost as bad as Master himself," War Lilac said a final time, "That's all you're MERELY. Don't ever forget it."  
  
War Lilac turned, stomping into the woods and vanished soon after. Franky sighed and looked out towards the waters. She was right; he was a hallucination, a warped idealistic caricature of the real Frank Freakly. Not real. Can't change much, if anything at all. He continued to stare across the lake until some sudden tapping motion poked at his shoulder. He yelped in shock and turned to see it was Sonar, patiently poking him for attention.  
  
"Ahh, Sonar!" Franky called out, "Please don't do that."  
  
"Sorry," Sonar said, smiling, "Just wanted to see how you're doing. And, uh...how she's doing?"  
  
"Okay, I guess," Franky said, "I managed to put the pep back in her, Old Traveller's quite the downer, isn't he?"  
  
"Yeah, you're right there," Sonar giggled, "Dude should really lighten up, laugh a bit more. Ooh, think I've got some nitrous oxide in my bag somewhere!"  
  
"Save it, Sony," Franky sighed.  
  
"Oh?" Sonar asked, "What's the matter with you?"  
  
"War Lilac," Franky said, "The fact she's still around pretty much means that it's still possible for her to still be...born, as such. A shame. And Lilac seems like a nice girl, too..."  
  
"I know..." Sonar sighed alongside him, "It doesn't help it all depends on Master staying away from the Thermal Base and...well, I'm not sure he can."  
  
"What makes you think that?" Franky asked.  
  
"Well, we've got seven chapters left, haven't we?"  
  
"..." There was a quiet pause, "...Good point, Sonar. So, what're we gonna do?"  
  
"Master's a lost cause at this point," Sonar said, shaking her head sadly, "His self-loathing is more than enough for War Lilac to thrive. He's obliviously angsting his way to his doom. Suggest we help Lilac as much as we can until the influence becomes too much."  
  
"I dunno..." Franky turned to Sonar again, "We're hallucinations, Memories. We ain't real."  
  
"Well that's never stopped me before," Sonar said, smiling at her own little joke, "Besides, who cares if you're a vision, that you only exist because Master wants the real you to be different? You're a good guy, you help people. Past aside, it's all that matters now."  
  
"...Yeah..." Franky said, "That's a real good point! Sonar, you're a genius!"  
  
"And yet," Sonar noted, "We've never met in real life. How amusing. Anyway, best we get into Brevon's base too. We've got a lot of work to do."  
  
Franky nodded, smiling, and the two shook hands. There was an ominous hum as the two vanished into the ether, leaving the lake a calm and serene location, waiting to be helpful once more.


	9. Thermal Fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DeviantART Link: https://masterperrymartin.deviantart.com/art/Freedom-Dies-With-Me-CHAPTER-8-560443248

" _You will NOT kill me, you stupid creature!_ "  
  
" **Brevon Brevon Brevon Brevon Brevon Brevon Brevon...BREEEEEVOOOOON!** "  
  
" _Stay away from me, you madwoman!_ "  
  
" **Look for the Brevon find the Brevon stab the Brevon shoot the Brevon fillet the Brevon. KILL THE BREVON! STUFF THE BREVON! EAT THE BREVON!** "  
  
" _You're just some nobody in over her tiny, puny head! Stand down, Sash Lilac!_ "  
  
" **...Sash Lilac? Oh, that girl's dead. Now they call me...War Lilac! Now Die! DIE! DIEDIEDIEDIEDIE!** "  
  
" _You will not...get me! Oh no...no! Stay back! GET AWAY FROM MEARRRRRRRRRSGSHBADN..._ "  
  
\---------------  
  
Master awoke with an loud scream. He stopped and stared off into the distance; cold wet cave with the dim glow of dawn crossing the entrance. He sighed, clasping his head in his hands. For a while he had thought this was just a dream and he was still asleep on the airship. But nope, it was real. And the dreams he was actually having weren't making it any easier. For a while it seemed to be a pleasant snooze; both Franky AND Sonar were gone now, so for the most part it was mostly quiet and relaxing. But then the black void slowly pulsated, fogging up, glowing with a disgusting red haze. Blood began to drip from nowhere and it was soon collecting in small crimson pools by the wayside.  
  
And then...she was there. The creature looked like Lilac, if you were liable enough to squint a bit. But there was a lot about her that, frankly, was horrific. She looked broken, a giggling smashed plate of a dragon, with once purple fur now a charred grey. Her horns were cracked, flaking off into the void to show War Lilac's black devil horns underneath. Her skin was pale, scarred, blistered and awash with lava-like scabs crossing the surface, her lips dry and bleeding and her blackened teeth forever curled into a wild grin. Her clothing was a mere mockery of Lilac's original clothes, shreds of blue cloth that barely covered her limp body. Half of her shirt was missing, draping down and exposing her white undershirt, while her shorts had been ripped at the leg and around the belt area with a quick and uncomfortable flashing of magenta panties. Gloves ripped, boots totally destroyed from the ankles down and blue gems cracked and smashed yet still glued to the sides of her head. And as if that wasn't enough, her original tendrils were completely gone, with no stuffed replicas to take their place, leading two streams of blood to pour out of her head and trail behind her like a calling card. Her eyes, while not the black and red voids that plagued War Lilac, were bloodshot and a raw pink, two small magenta pupils focused on the creature crawling away from her.  
  
This being was green and very tall, some kind of insect, with piercing red eyes and two antennae posing as eyebrows. He was clad in wrecked orange armor, some of the shreds dug deep into his skin, and a rag of a cape slowly thickening with blood. He was dragging his way across the void, using his one remaining arm to slowly claw at the ground while still squeezing at his stump of a left arm to stem the blood flow. His face showed no fear, only anger. His crawling was in vain as the deranged dragon slowly approached, holding a bloodied blade in her hand. The bloods of red and green mixed and fused as she finally pinned the insect with her boot. They had a conversation of some kind, the insect barking and commanding for his life without letting his fear slip, while the dragon growled and cackled random violent psychobabble. It was the final part that clinched Master, the final part that sent him panicking as the dreams climaxed to this dragon plunging the knife over and over into the insect's chest.  
  
'War Lilac'  
  
As the dream faded and the dragon began to slowly pull the organs out of the still alive insect and play with them, it all became clear to Master. This mockery of Lilac, what a surprise in retrospect, WAS Lilac. War Lilac in-fact, in some kind of transitional period, killing Lord Brevon once and for all. Master knew of the transitional period himself; hell, his own transitional period was during his attempt to revive his sister. But even Lilac was looking depressing to him. She was totally broken, half-laughing and half-crying, shrieking with hysteria. A lost cause, and seemingly just as miserable as she was insane. Master was conflicted; killing Brevon was a good thing, for sure, but to see Lilac like that...  
  
"Lilac..." Master yelped, "Oh...the fuck have I done?!"  
  
"Kid, language!" Blade said in a hushed tone, "Keep it down and the language classy! Milla's still asleep."  
  
"You're right..." Master sighed. He stared blankly into the opening of the cave, thoughts as restless as his heartbeat, before he sighed. He got up, slowly and softly pulling the snoring Milla to one side, keeping her away from the ashes of the fire and quickly taking some paper and a pen out of his pockets. The resultant note read;  
  
 _"Milla~  
  
Lilac's gone and I have a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach this is the day it all goes wrong. My mission was to keep Lilac sane, doubtless I've already driven her mad with shock and grief. If I'm not here when you wake up, leave this cave and find Carol. Best guess she's gone to re-join the Red Scarves, it's not like she's got any other possible crutches at this point. I know you want to help, but Lilac's right; you shouldn't be put in the line of fire because of some dumb mistakes others made. Trust me, you'll be safe.  
  
WAR  ~~War~~  Master...guess that's all I am to you now..."_  
  
Master sighed at the name. He had put a cross through the WAR part before, but here...it felt like it belonged. He slowly put the note onto Milla and ran out of the cave. He rushed through the vegetation, slicing some of the thornier branches away with Blade, and stopped alongside the lake-front. And there, as Lilac said, was the large red thermal base, all of which now belonged to Brevon. There was some dust scattered across the ground and it looked like some extreme force had originated there and moved out across the waters. For all he knew, Lilac was in there right now, fighting Brevon's forces and probably getting herself killed.  
  
"Look at that..." Master said, his voice carrying the weary sigh of resignation, "She did it after all. Great."  
  
"Well, if it makes you feel any better..." Blade said, "Cross-Referencing with the main timeline shows she was always going to do this anyway. But it does show some other interesting stuff too..."  
  
"Like?" Master asked.  
  
"Well, remember that giant mantis bot that fell apart before we could fight it? You know, back at the temple? Turns we WERE supposed to fight that thing. 'S kinda a shame, really. Problem is, I don't get how us traveling into this universe could possibly affect that thing. I don't know about you, but I'm getting the impression someone is working things behind the scenes, and on a much larger scale than that cloaked fellow. Almost like we've been led here for the sake of some grand scheme."  
  
"Well, it's fanfiction," Master shrugged, "You expect that after a while."  
  
"So..." Blade said, ignoring this statement, "Are you really gonna do it? Are you really gonna go in, even though it could mean the birth of this...War Lilac?"  
  
"Blade, you know what we think..." Master sighed, "There's another Master and Blade out there that will just walk away, and we can't because of that. You can't fight fate...but you CAN distract it..."  
  
=========  
Meanwhile  
=========  
  
'I'm coming for you, Torque!' Such a quote perfectly encapsulated the single recurring thought that rushed its way through Lilac's head, time and time again; 'I'm coming for you, Torque! And you too, Brevon! I will end your evil ways before the day is done!'   
  
The thought repeated over and over again as the elevator dragged her deeper into the bowels of the Thermal Base. It had taken a good half hour, but she had first taken the various elevators of the complex. The guards had odd looks on their faces as the angry dragon girl slowly lifted into the base. Two guards were at the entrance to the area and opened fire accordingly. Their laser rifles shot brilliant green bolts of energy that zoomed past Lilac in bursts, some singeing her fur, before she approached with speed and flung herself boots first at the first guard, cracking the glass done and spilling the green goop and eyeball within all over the floor, leading the robotic body to collapse with a clank. She then reared up and Dragon Boosted into the second guard, leaving him in the dust as he too collapsed and exploded into dust. Lilac's own feet touched the ground and she began to sprint towards the end of the room, eventually running through a few auto-opening doors...before smacking nose first into another one. She stopped, rubbing her nose, before studying the door. Electro-lock, not exactly the kind of door she could just kick down, and instead backtracked, searching for a keycard or two. She climbed to an upper level of the facility, leaping up the nearby ladder until flipping directly over the edge and breaking out into another run past a few more enemies.  
  
She continued, rushing head first into a set of moving pistons and escaping with barely a scratch, while robots shot at her from all possible angles. While her destructive entrance might've triggered the alarm early, it certainly scattered the base's attempts to raise the alarm and call in some more help. They had managed to do it by this point, however, and it wasn't long before small red robots were screaming out of every vent, shooting blue lasers at our heroine from ghastly blue virtual eyes. The bolts flew past her, slamming harmlessly into the riveted walls, while Lilac dashed out of a second set of pistons and swiped the green keycard off of the smoldering remains of another fishtank grunt and screaming her way back through the pistons and rolling down the ladder to the door again. Lilac, without even pausing, swiped the card across the nearby terminal and slithered though the slowly opening door. Nothing was going to stand in her way this time. She had made mistakes, errors, that resulted in deaths, delusion and kidnapping. And by the Great Dragon, she was going to correct them!  
  
A good portion of her trek through the facility was very much the same sort of rigorous craziness. Lilac ran, sprinted, dashed, jumped, leaped, slashed, smacked, slapped and generally screamed her way through the thermal base. She was serious and stoic, face unmoving, teeth grinding, hands locked into fists and swinging wildly at any and every robot in sight. The base was heavily guarded and robots took the time stream out of every possible location. Out of every panel, every wall and scrap of floor, the number of guards seem inexhaustible. The robot guards fired their rifles with almost marksman-level precision, cutting through the air and almost cutting through Lilac, while bipedal green insect-bots covered the walls and floor with burning plasma. More eye-bots fired their bolts of plasma at the girl and throughout all the chaos was a sickeningly sweet female voice that cut through the carnage like a knife through warm butter. An AI of some kind, perhaps? Lilac said nothing, thought little more and only focused on those keycards.   
  
She dashed through a nearby panel and rolled down a small alcove, tumbling deeper into the bowels of the base's original geothermal facilities. The place was a mass of flames, heat safely contained by uncountable amounts of safety procedures and devices, but that didn't stop Lilac from breaking out in a huge sweat. Gasping for fresh air and water, she slowed and stumbled through the area, climbing onto cylinders and pistons,  before finally stopping for a rest. She called out in a heat-based agony, yearning for some kind of way to cool off, before she noticed some across the other side of the room she was in; a sign labeled, 'GEOTHERMAL COOLING STATION - EMPLOYEES ONLY'. Lilac took her chance and broke out into a full on sprint, narrowly dodging red hot pipes and sustaining a burn on her arm, rolling into the room and mashing the button with her foot. She lay in the room, breathing heavily, letting the cool winds in the room cool down and revive her. Her aching but cooling body stirred in the dim mists of the room's ventilation; she had no time to lay about, she needed to find Torque and fast. But this pathetic lapse of weakness was only though a good half-minute of trekking through this inferno and it could not be repeated. Lilac got to her feet and scrambled around the room, trying to find some form of heat protection that had survived Brevon's doubtless purge of the facility upon his acquisition of it. Finally, she found it; a glowing blue crystal hidden behind some cardboard boxes.   
  
Lilac grinned. The crystal was a shield, crystals given power through Kingdom Stone while they were digging its place for it within the temple. They could grant shields of some element via colour (green was Earth or Wood, red was Fire, grey was Steel and so on), and it wasn't long before people stashed every last one they could find and sell them on for absurd amounts of crystals. 'Scalping', Spade used to call it, though nowadays Lilac called it 'exploitation' and 'disgusting' and whatnot. Still, she had to use this one; it was blue, a water shield, perhaps famous with its ability to give out a strong aura of negative temperature to the point of entering sub-zero territory with relative ease. Lilac raised the crystal above her head and brought it down, smashing it on the floor and spreading crystal shards everywhere. Energies beyond comprehension swirled around Lilac, soothing her aching body, until an audible swinging sound formed a transparent blue sphere around her. The inside was cold, nearing below freezing, but in the extreme heat of the geothermal base, it felt amazing. Freshened up, properly equipped and revitalized, Lilac Dragon Boosted out of the door and back into the flames, feeling nothing but a powerful, trembling exaltation, at the mere thought being able to save Torque from the clutches of this monstrous Brevon!  
  
Finally, the path ended. Lilac tripped upon a piece of scrap that was strewn across the area and the rushing of wind met her and she fell down a nearby shaft. She landed with a painful clang, before getting up almost instantly and checking out her new surroundings; back in the depths of the facility, but now with visible streams of lava and rusted spikes on either side of the area.  
  
"What is this place?" Lilac asked out loud, "It's like some sort of deathtrap..."  
  
"It was supposed to be..." came a familiar voice, "Tried to push me into lava, but I just forced the guy pushing the walls into the spikes. You should've heard him scream!"   
  
Lilac turned with a yelp to see Master, somewhat singed and annoyed, behind her. His gun was out and had clearly run dry, slide locked back and smoke still emitting from the barrel. He too had managed to find one of the crystals and a blue orb was circling around him as well.  
  
"Traveller!" Lilac called out, somewhat angrily, "What did I tell you about following me?!"  
  
"I had to," Master said, "I can't risk getting you killed! Besides, I've got a plan with Blade, so don't worry about Brevon."  
  
"Yeah," Blade said, "We've got other problems. Like that A.I."  
  
"The A.I?" Lilac asked, "You mean the voice?"  
  
"Yeah. Turns out she's called Syntax. Some kind of ancient tech given life and modernized. A powerful, smart, but ultimately loyal creation that can control entire bases! It's attacked us the whole way here. Even told us to stand on an explosive pressure plate to open a door!"  
  
"At least you didn't step on it..." Lilac stopped, "Right?"  
  
There was an awkward pause before Master sighed wearily, "Look, it's like the History Eraser Button, alright? Some things you just have to do. Look, that's not the point. The point is Brevon is literally a few corridors away from here. All we need to do is escape this room and we'll find him and Torque!"  
  
"INTRUDERS, IT APPEARS THAT YOU ARE LOST. PERHAPS YOU WOULD LIKE SOME ASSISTANCE?"  
  
"...Of course," Master sighed again, "Yes, Syntax. We would like some help. If you would be so kind as to direct us to Lord Brevon, YOUR master, that would be most helpful."  
  
"SCANNING FOR REQUEST VALIDITY, PLEASE WAIT..." the voice ceased, but then erupted once more, "VALIDITY CHECK: NEGATIVE. SECRET SCANS REVEAL INTRUDERS AS: LILAC, SASH AND MASTER, WAR. IN-BUILT DIRECTIVES: DO NOT ALLOW EITHER TO ACCESS LORD BREVON'S THRONE ROOM. INITIATING INTRUDER DISPOSAL PROGRAM."  
  
There was a whirring of gears as orbs emerged from beyond the lava and slowly formed with painful clanging sounds. The orbs kept piling in on each other until it formed some kind mechanical beetle. Its metal was chromed but damaged, specks flaking off and melting into sludge from the extreme heat, with a few scratches the seemed to Indicate past battles with other heroes, doubtless many who ended their lives against this thing. Its singular spade-like claw flexed as a final orb descended onto the bot. This one looked more like a standard robot, with a large green globe of an eye and a large also-green dome across its top. It affixed onto the beetle-bot and shook itself to settle in. Rather than any expected mechanical roar, however, it merely went;  
  
"PLEASE REMAIN STILL DURING THE INCINERATION PROCESS. THANK YOU."  
  
Lilac gulped. This was going to be a dangerous fight; lots of spikes, lots of lava, no real space to maneuver and very fragile shields. There was small cracks slowly forming in it and bursts of heat were beginning to seep through. Still, Lilac buckled down and readied herself for the battle. The beetle-bot charged with gusto, flames erupting out of its pincer and lasers firing out of the robot's eye, which Lilac ducked and dodged with a good amount of precision, before she reared up and struck the creature in its body. There was a dent, but no more damage showed upon the creature. Whatever it was made of, it was very strong steel. Also seemingly bullet-proof, as Master's impressive barrage of 10 .50 AE bullets showed, striking its body to no real effect. Only one of the 10 bullets caused any sort of damage, striking the AI's body in the glass dome, throwing it back somewhat but ultimately dealing little damage. Still, at least the two had found its weakpoint. The robot retaliated to this by raising its claw, striking Lilac in the process and focusing it on the lava stream behind them. There was a rumbling sound as the lava wobbled like crazy and, to both fighters' shock, a stream of lava screamed its way out of the flow and directly towards them. Master quickly shot Blade into the ceiling and tried to grab Lilac too, but he could grab her hand before he ascended. Lilac fell to the floor and shielded her head from the lava, which passed over her and putting an impressive dent into her shield. The cracks were larger now, and the heat was only getting more and more intense. This battle had to be won, and FAST.   
  
The lava finally passed over her and into the beetle-bot's pincer, residing within it as a mass of glowing magma. The pincer glowed from the intense heat and was shoved forward, shaking the lava loose again and sending it screaming back towards them. This time, however, Lilac was ready for it. She jumped over the lava and zoomed in towards the robot, suddenly spinning herself around like a top and smacking the orb robot multiple times with her tendrils, causing several dents and cracks in the metal and glass. Finally, she Dragon Boosted away from the robot, her boots smacking directly into the orb's eye again and causing even more cracks upon its surface. Master too had dropped from the ceiling and was throwing Blade out again in extended segments. The enlarged Blade was swung at full force towards the mechanical pincer, slicing the thing in two and spreading its fragments across the floor. Master threw out Blade again, this time wrapping it around the beetle-bot's neck, before jumping into the air and retracting the coils. It dragged him through the air, granting him time to grab a piece of shrapnel from the pincer on the way. The bot attempted to swipe one of its legs at him, but it missed and Master collided with the head. He raised the shrapnel and threw it down onto the robot's head, piercing its eye and digging straight into its motherboard. The bot itself screamed some kind of mechanical plea, but it wasn't enough. Lilac, ideas swarming into her head, quickly jumped onto Master's back, grabbing him, and then Dragon Boosted away once more. Master was pulled away from the machine and so was Blade, its segments tightening and slicing into the neck of this creature. Finally there was a piercing scraping sound and the Blade was pulled free, separating the orb bot from the beetle-bot's body and sending its head high into the air. It finally came down, pierced onto the spikes below it, shivering. Electricity crawled across its body before the spasms finally stopped and the glow dimmed, eventually going out altogether.  
  
"Yeah!" Lilac called out, "We did it!"  
  
"Yeah..." Master said, less satisfied, "That was a little easy..."  
  
"Too easy..." Blade said, paranoid, "I'm getting the feeling that that was only half of the trap."  
  
"What'd be the other, then?" Lilac asked.  
  
She had little more time to say anything else as a rumbling sound caught their ears. Metal panels had slid over the spikes, rendering the whole surface completely smooth and safe, while the lava flows had stopped as well. The lights had dimmed but a warm orange glow was emitting from the created hallway. In fact, it was very warm. Almost hot. Lava hot. And it was then that the thought finally hit Lilac and she looked down the hallway. To her abject horror, a tidal wave of magma was rushing towards the two, pushed along via pumps, with rapidly increasing heat.  
  
"Well..." Blade said, sounding sort of smug, "That'll be it."  
  
Both Lilac and Master screamed in terror and sprinted for their lives down the opposite hallway towards whatever lay at the end of it. Lilac's heart was a sledgehammer in her chest, pounding against her ribcage with such force that she swore she saw it leap through her clothing like some cartoon animal in love. Her legs were slamming against the ground in a panicked frenzy, her face was twisted into abject terror and her pulse was like a jackhammer in her wrists and neck. The warmth only increased on her back as the magma slowly closed in, the fading shield trying its best to counteract the heat and doing an poor job all the while. Finally, an opening in the floor opened up in front of them. Lilac could take no chances, grabbing Master and leaping down the opening. As she and him tumbled into and through the darkness, she could see the opening they had dived through slowly close, with the rushing and bubbling of the lava slowly moving over them. Finally, both collapsed onto a hard steel floor and their shields smashed, scattering fragments of themselves all over the floor before they changed into mist and floated away. The area was cold regardless, and there was some...things hiding in the darkness. The dimmed lights from before finally went back to full power and the soft outlines became harder, terrifying reality; it was Lord Brevon himself, with his orange armour and antennae eyebrows, along with Serpentine and Prince Dail from before. Lilac, burying her fear as much as she could, instantly got to her feet.  
  
"BREVON!" Lilac called out boastfully, "I've found you at last!"  
  
" _Miss Lilac..._ " Lord Brevon said. His voice was low and gravelly, to the point of almost sounding mechanical, as well as taking on an unsettling tone. It struck even more fear into Lilac and she could sense herself shrinking somewhat from the terror, " _Don't try to hide within yourself JUST yet. I have heard a lot about you from my...comrades._ "  
  
"They're the ones alright," Prince Dail said in his monotone scrawls, "They are the traitors who killed my father!"  
  
"Yeah!" Serpentine growled, "And these are the guys who damaged my hands, destroyed my RoboPanther and are trying to be heroes!"  
  
"You got a problem with that, Lyric?" Master asked, "What's wrong with being a hero?"  
  
" _For no reason? Around me?_ " Brevon laughed, " _Everything._ "  
  
"Can we get on with this?" Serpentine asked impatiently, "That cloaked person told us they'd be right here, with nowhere to run! We have them, so let's get 'em!"  
  
" _Why yes..._ " Brevon said, his harsh tone returning, " _You two have been thorns in my side for far too long. Especially you, Sash Lilac. I cannot have goody two-shoes running around ruining my plans. All I want to do is get off this planet._ "  
  
"Yeah, and nuke it!" Lilac screamed, "You're not leaving this planet with the Kingdom Stone! And you're certainly not leaving with Torque! If you've tortured him, I'll-"  
  
" _Oh, don't worry about the Chaser..._ " Brevon said smugly, " _I've been a good little dictator in THAT regard. I've kept him safe...until you two turned up. Now he'll get to see the great Sash Lilac and War Master of old, either slaves before me or corpses under me._ "  
  
"I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY!" Lilac screamed at the top of her lungs, dashing towards Brevon with speed. Master let out a 'NO!' and outstretched his hand, but it was far from enough. Brevon responded almost instantly, drawing his curved blade and striking Lilac across the chest. It hit and she fell backwards, roaring out in pain, a large crimson gash stained across herself. Master almost instantly got to his feet, drawing his Deagle and trying to squeeze about every last bullet he had in Brevon's general direction. He only got off three shots before he got a blaster bolt to the left hand, causing him to shout out in pain and drop the gun. It was Serpentine, brand new and shiny chrome blaster in his hand, who suddenly charged in for the kill. Master drew Blade and fought against the snake, dodging both his left hook and a quick butt from the gun, and retaliating by swinging across Serpentine's own chest with Blade. The blow missed, but it caught the snake off guard, allowing Master to wind up and plant a beautiful Haymaker directly into his jaw, sending him sliding across the floor. He got up, firing even more blaster bolts in Master's general direction. He even managed to get him in some areas, hitting his left leg and his shoulder, leaving painful burns in their wake.  
  
" _No more, Serpentine..._ " Brevon smirked, drawing his blade again, " _I've got this one..._ "  
  
"You wanna scape, Eyebrows?" Blade yelled, "Bring it ON!"  
  
Brevon obliged, dashing forward with his own blade and striking with impossible speed and precision. Master drew Blade too and both ended up standing against each other, weapons locked and sending ethereal sparks across the area. Soon, even Master began to buckle under Brevon's impressive strength and willpower and eventually relented, dodging out of the way and letting Brevon's weapon carry on until it hit the ground with a clang. He attempted to plunge the Blade right into Brevon's head, but missed. Brevon had instead dodged and, in one swift movement, plunged his knife into Traveller's stomach - and right through his wound. An intense, agonizing pain ripped open in Master's stomach and he whined in agony, dropping Blade and slamming into the back wall. The pain only increased alongside a draining feeling in his stomach and a wet, rusted smell emitting from his jacket.  
  
"Kid!" Blade called out as he tumbled to the floor, "Oh no, the stomach wound! It must've ripped open! I'm sorry, Slugger, in all the hysteria I never noticed!"  
  
" _Oh dear..._ " Brevon mocked, " _It appears all this silly fighting has...winded you. Possibly for the last time. And now that you've been dealt with..._ "  
  
He turned to face Lilac again. She was being forced to her feet by Serpentine and Prince Dail, eyes moist from the pain of the chest wound.  
  
" _You're all that's left. See what happens to those who cross Brevon..._ "  
  
He grinned and said no more, instead slowly walking forward to Lilac, blade in hand. He grabbed the two tendrils attached to her head and listened to the dragon girl cry out. He raised the blade high, strength building, hand shivering and without warning or pause brought it down upon her. The blade carved clean through Lilac's tendrils and dropped to the floor, crimson jets of blood slowly dripping from both the severed tendrils and Lilac herself. All other sound in the room was now suddenly blanked out by this loud, agonized shrieking that was coming from Lilac's mouth, intense sobbing mixed in with it, before she was dropped and fell to the floor. There she lay, convulsing and spasming, hyperventilating and gasping for breath. Master's own mouth went dry; she was going into shock.  
  
"It appears the operation was...successful, Lord Brevon!" Serpentine laughed, his tone now nasty and depraved.  
  
" _Indeed..._ " Brevon said, grinning deviously, " _Now all that's left is the Blade. I've heard many things about this...wonderful creation. And I WILL have it!_ "  
  
"You wish!" Master spat back at him, "Blade! Emergency Drill #12-9-12-1-3!"  
  
The Blade said nothing, instead floating slowly into the air, suddenly breaking out into a sharp dash across the room. It managed to slice Brevon across his cheek on the way out, before spearing into the vents above them. Brevon growled, looking at Master with a snarled and wounded face, " _What did you just do?_ "  
  
"Sent Blade into the vents," Master laughed weakly, "If I can't hold onto him, neither can you."  
  
" _Then you'll just have to trade your life!_ " Brevon yelled, readying his own weapon. However, before he could strike Master, an intense rumbling sounded off over their heads. Sounds of gunfire and screams of death ringed out amongst the chaos. Brevon stopped and called out, " _What's going on up there?!_ "  
  
" **Brevon!** " came an echoing voice, clearly coming from the P.A system and overlaced with static, " **I'm afraid our partnership is over! Too much torture for my tastes. So I've...taken over your base. Sorry!** "  
  
"...You!" Prince Dail called out in rage, "I KNEW we couldn't trust you! You've just used us for your own selfish gains!"  
  
" **Tough talk from Brevon's little puppy!** " the voice spoke again.  
  
" _You will regret this!_ " Brevon called out too, " _Do you know what happens to those who betray Brevon?!_ "   
  
The creature laughed his response, " **Well, I guess that you want my head. Not that you'll get the chance. I do not deal with cowards who hide behind machinery and torture. Perhaps you want to abandon these robots and fight me one-on-one. Unless you're the brown-trousers, mustache-headed failure of a villain I think you are!** "  
  
" _GRRRRR..._ " Brevon growled, " _FINE!_ " he turned looked at Serpentine and Dail, " _Take these fools to the Main Torture Room and deadlock the doors behind us! This traitor has given them a few more minutes of life. How horrible this gift will be to them soon enough..._ " he stomped out of the room soon after, the doors shutting behind him. Prince Dail grabbed Lilac, now too weak from blood loss to even cry out in pain, and dragged her out of the room too. Master's head was already spinning from his own blood loss, a final thought crossing his mind;  
  
"Wait...that voice. Wasn't that-"  
  
 **BOOMF!**  A hit from Serpentine sent him to the floor, and spiraling out of consciousness.


	10. The War Master

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DeviantART Link: https://masterperrymartin.deviantart.com/art/Freedom-Dies-With-Me-CHAPTER-9-561835349

" _ **All remaining guards and soldiers above deck! This is your commander Lord Arktivus Brevon speaking. The Thermal Base is under attack from a traitor in our midst! Mobilize all possible reinforcements and destroy any and ALL opposition! Bring me this clocked traitor. Immediate promotion for anyone who brings him ALIVE**...right. Are we ready for the torture?_ "   
  
"Everything's ready, Lord Brevon!"  
  
"This is it, Lord Brevon. All is set and the doors are locked down tight."  
  
" _Excellent...wake them up..._ "  
  
There was a stinging pain across Master's face as he was flung back into reality. He shook his head to offset the sickness and waited for his eyes to refocus. They eventually did, focusing on the room around him; it was a large room, quite different to the one he had been knocked out in, with thick pipes in the background holding some kind of light blue liquid. There was a console on the other side of the room, with a heavy metal door beyond even that, and a large pillar jutting out of the middle of the room. The sounds of humming and crackling electricity met his slowly bleeding ears alongside evil cackling. In front of him was Serpentine again, his arched hand having just slapped the daylights back into him.  
  
"Morning!" Serpentine cackled, "Nice to see you in this...safe state."  
  
Master growled, half out of confusion and half out of anger, and tried to swipe at the smug snake with his left arm. However, nothing happened and he couldn't move his arm. Or his other arm. Or indeed anything from the waist up. He looked down and saw, to his slight fear, that he was tied up quite tightly with rope, leaving both arms behind his back and both legs fastened together like some kind of brick. He struggled and strained, trying to fight his way out of the ropes or snap them. Again, very little happened bar the snake's raspy guffaws.  
  
"I wouldn't try that, Scarf!" Serpentine said, "That's special-brand extra-strength rope! No way you're getting out of it."  
  
" _Unless you would like to try that whole...Hysteria form again..._ " came a sinister laugh. Master arched his head past Serpentine and looked directly at Brevon, who was slowly and calmly walking into the room, " _Well, if not for the fact you can only do so with that Blade of yours..._ "  
  
Master looked closer at Brevon; the warlord was dressed the exact same way he was before, but there was something...more to him this time. Specifically, a red woolen snake was wrapped around his hand. Wait a minute, that was HIS scarf! And, to make matters worse, Prince Dail was following in his footsteps, slowly fumbling with the unloaded Desert Eagle and inspecting it throughly. Master was, to put it lightly, annoyed.   
  
"Hey, those're mine! Give 'em back!"  
  
" _...No,_ " Brevon said, handing the scarf to Prince Dail, who wrapped it around his neck and looked very proud of himself because of it, " _I have...well, I USED to have an accomplice that told me almost everything that I needed to know._ "  
  
"I don't suppose you're referring to that cloaked dude..." Master said, to which Brevon nodded. He sighed, "Well, at least that explains how much you know about me and Blade, since our concepts don't exist in this universe and all. So he told you everything, did he? What had happened, what was going to happen and how to use that to your advantage?"  
  
" _Not everything..._ " Brevon looked above him to the upper decks, no doubt ablaze with warfare, " _Clearly. But he told me enough. Yours and Lilac's own stupidity filled in the blanks. So please, if you don't mind, I would like to...reward you for your efforts. Observe..._ "  
  
There was another slap and another yelp of pain and Master jerked his head to the centre pillar. There, attached with braces and metallic rope, was Lilac. She was hovering above the ground, her legs dangling in the thin air, while groaning with pain and shock. Nearby her was a table of some sort, her bleeding tendrils now sitting upon it and even now still bleeding and even twitching ever so slightly. Lilac herself was groggy, slowly coming to, groaning and yelling from the pain. She was taking a little too long, however, so Serpentine wound his arm back up and brought a mighty slap across her face, rocketing it sidewards and snapping Lilac back into the realms of consciousness.   
  
"Y-Yes, mom!" She called out in shock, "Just grabbing my satchel! I...wait, where am I?" she quickly looked around, then down to herself, "Why'm I suspended like this? What's going on?" she finally looked up at Brevon, her eyes now glazing over in rage, "Brevon! I-"  
  
" _Don't bother,_ " Brevon growled, his tone threatening and harsh, causing Lilac to stop, " _Thank you. Now that both of you are awake, I believe we shall get on with tonight's festivities. A light show, if you will. Only one real catch, however..._ "  
  
"Yeah!" Serpentine laughed as Brevon bashed some buttons on the nearby terminal, "You're the light!"  
  
"Wha..." Lilac asked in confusion, before a humming sound slowly emitted from over her head. The faint crackling sound of electricity followed in its wake and electric streams weaved across the bizarre transmitter that hung over Lilac's head. She was blank for a second, trying to comprehend what was actually above her, until it all clicked and she screamed, thrashing around in a vain attempt to free herself from her bonds, "No! You are going to regret this, Brevon! I'll make sure of it!"  
  
" _What's the matter?_ " Brevon laughed, " _Scared? Perhaps...perhaps it was nice of that cloaked figure to tell me that you of all people are afraid of one thing and one thing only; electrocution..._ " Lilac said nothing, her struggles only increasing in strength as Brevon continued, " _It is all rather funny. I was planning some much worse kind of torture. I could have pulled all your fingernails out, at least until I was told your ghastly race doesn't actually have them. And pulling out your tendrils would probably end up scalping you. Now I don't want you to die instantly...that would be no fun. If anything, you should be thanking me._ "  
  
"THANKING you?!" Master called out.  
  
" _Well, they say electric torture is one of the more...painless methods,_ " Brevon shrugged, " _So perhaps you should be counting your lucky stars. Ever had barbed wire dragged across your wrists?_ "  
  
"I have..." Master said quietly.  
  
" _Do you remember the pain?_ " Brevon taunted, " _The agony, the never-ending blood? Such a shame it never did you in. Guess I will have to do it myself. But first, I shall have to spend the dragon girl first. Like a Fearax Credit._ "  
  
"So, are we gonna electrocute her now?" Prince Dail asked in his monotone.  
  
"Yes, get on with it!" Serpentine screeched, "I want to have fried water dragon for my dinner!"  
  
"...Well, I suppose it makes a change from rations, I suppose..." Prince Dail shrugged.  
  
" _SILENCE!_ " Lord Brevon roared, causing both to yelp and stand in line, " _BOTH OF YOU! If it's a fried water dragon you want, it is a fried water dragon that you will get! Now...perhaps we shall start on a lower setting...perhaps we'll start at seven?_ " both associates nodded furiously, " _I thought so._ "  
  
"Brevon!" Lilac called out, half angry and half terrified, "Don't you DARE do this!"  
  
"Brevon, I swear!" Master called out too, "If you so much as breath on that button, I will pull your lungs out through your chest!"  
  
There was a slight pause as Brevon looked at him, a look of confusion spread across his face. Both Serpentine and Prince Dail looked at each other, trying to figure out if he was even serious. Brevon was silent, looking at the half-crazed hedgehog, before a devious grin spread across his face and his hand spread across the console.  
  
" _Heh...cute._ "  
  
Another shaking chuckle entered the room as Brevon's hand slammed directly onto the main button, sat in the corner of the terminal. The pillar that Lilac was tied to responded in force, letting out a roar as the electricity surged across its surfaces. It struck Lilac with force and she screamed in agony. The electricity did not let up, however, only slowly increasing in volume and ferocity. Lilac's screamed continued, tears forming only to vanish into the heat of the arcing streams, and for good reason; it was agony. Almost every part of her being was burning up, every part subjected to a agonizing, debilitating pain almost as hot as the fires of hell itself. Master could only scream "NO! NOOOOO!" as he struggled against his ropes, his mind going into a panicked overdrive as he struggled to find a way out of this mess. Brevon only looked on at the pained water dragon, hearing her barely audible screeching, and threw his head to the sky with an evil laugh that came across like a thick and imposing victory roar. Eventually, Prince Dail rushed forward and slammed his hand into the terminal too. The electric sounds ceased, as did Lilac's screams and she went limp.  
  
" _Why did you do that?!_ " Brevon roared, staring at Prince Dail, " _It was just getting to the exciting bit where the eyes would pop out!_ "  
  
"I would rather you didn't," Prince Dail argued, "Besides, we cannot kill her yet. We need her alive for some more information on the Chaser, do we not?"  
  
" _...Oh yes,_ " Brevon looked dumbfounded, " _I almost forgot. Oh well._ "  
  
"So what?" Master shouted, somewhat panicked from the event, "You just put enough volts up her to light the whole of Bootle for no reason?!"  
  
" _Not really..._ " Serpentine said, " _We have your Chaser friend. We've tried to extract information about the Kingdom Stone and where his base of operations is. But no matter what we do, he won't spill the beans!_ "  
  
"Thankfully, just before his...betrayal..." Prince Dail said through clenched teeth, "This cloaked figure was kind enough to tell us you were on your way here to kill us. So we thought that you, and the water dragon, could help us find and eradicate these threats to our kingdom once and for all!"  
  
" _Exactly..._ " Brevon laughed, " _Wake up the Dragon Girl. Then, bring in the Chaser..._ "  
  
Prince Dail saluted, walking over to the limp dragon girl. She was in quite the state, with a good portion of her once purple fur now a disgusting charred grey. In fact, the same kind of grey that the transitional War Lilac looked like in Master's dreams. His still leaking stomach flushed the resultant horrible feeling in his stomach out into his clothes; this was it! This was where the timeline divided! Where Lilac would begin her horrible transformation into War Lilac! And there was nothing he could do about it! Master gulped, his mind still running wild with panic, desperately trying to find a bright side to any of this. Nothing.  
  
The Prince was now directly in front of Lilac, slowly shaking her awake. This accomplished little, so he looked out over the room and his eyes met with the two separated tendrils on the rails. His eyes then lit up as he slowly walked over to the rail and grabbed one of the tendrils, before walking back over to Lilac again. He reared up and whipped Lilac across the face with the tendril, causing her to yell out in pain again and awaken almost instantly. She looked at him, trying to keep a straight face through the pain and the burns, plus the stinging agony of the two new gashes below her right eye. She was shivering, tears in eyes, trying desperately hard not to sob or show any signs of weaknesses. She looked up, gasping and groaning with the effort, before she noticed what was in Prince Dail's right hand; her tendril. It was only then that her expression finally fell and she couldn't hold it in anymore; she lurched forward and retched, a gurgling stream of puke rupturing out of her mouth and splattering all over the floor. Prince Dail yelped in shock and managed to dart back just in time to avoid any of the splash. He could only watch as Lilac went limp again, coughing out the last of the bile, before she stared at Brevon again.  
  
"Gross!" Serpentine called out, "KILL HER NOW!"  
  
" _No!_ " Brevon said, grabbing the snake by his throat, " _That was...disgusting. But it might just be enough to get the Chaser to belt it all out too. Just...not in that way. Bring in the Chaser!_ "  
  
Soon enough, the shutter doors behind him slowly opened and there was Torque, tied up in a very similar way to Lilac, only to a wall with one of the soldiers pressing a laser rifle to his head. He, as anticipated, showed full well that Brevon had lied; he had been tortured, quite obviously, but nowhere near the levels of Lilac. He was just a bit roughed up, bleeding from his mouth and with a few gashes here and there, but was otherwise okay. Outwardly, at least.  
  
"Brevon!" he said, angry and defiant, "What're you doing?"  
  
" _I'm only finishing what you started,_ " Brevon said, " _The one thing I've always wanted to ask, before you all die horrible deaths, is why did you risk your lives and limbs coming after me? All I want to do is escape this planet, and your Kingdom Stone was the best possible choice. I do not wish to harm your planet, but it appears that your innate stupidity and insanity has made me...change my mind._ "  
  
"Wait..." Master said, "So you weren't gonna attack our planet, even though you've glassed damn near half the sector at this point, but now you're insisting on it now we've got involved? How's that early morning bowl of bullshit working out for you?"  
  
" _Hmm. As expected,_ " Brevon taunted, " _Someone of your near mindless disposition would not be able to comprehend how someone like me works._ "  
  
"He's right, though!" Torque called out, "No-one's believing a word of that! The absolute moment you get your Dreadnought airborne, you'll use it to turn this planet into a crater!"  
  
" _Now that's just exaggeration..._ " Brevon said, annoyed, " _As I said, I do not wish to destroy your planet. Though I DO intend to destroy most of its settlements, enslave its greatest warriors and turn the smoldering remains of the disgustingly pretty planet into a mechanical wasteland. A base of operations to rule the universe with an iron fist. But I will NOT destroy the planet._ "  
  
"Oh, well that makes me feel better..." Master grumbled sarcastically, "Freakin' scum..."  
  
" _...What was that?_ " Brevon taunted again, mimicking holding a hand to his ear, " _Was that, 'Brevon, please electrocute miss Lilac again'? Well, if you insist!_ "  
  
Brevon slammed his hand down onto the console again and once again the electricity surged outwards, striking Lilac and reigniting all of her burns. Once again, she screamed in abject agony, and then it suddenly stopped. Lilac went limp yet again, this time still awake, retching a second time with nothing escaping her stomach.  
  
"Please..." she was beginning to whimper, her once proud rambling fading as fast as her life-signs, "P-P-Please...no more..."  
  
"Lilac..." Torque said softly, "I'm sorry. I couldn't see you getting dragged into this..."  
  
" _Don't blame yourself, Commander,_ " Brevon taunted yet again, " _You all willingly threw yourself into danger. Now you all have to play your part in this little story. And you ALL have to pay the price..._ "  
  
Brevon reared his head for another evil, but a large rumbling explosion sent him tumbling to the floor, alongside Prince Dail and Serpentine. Prince Dail was the first up, "Lord Brevon! The base is crumbling around our ears! Even those deadlocked doors won't hold the traitors back for long."  
  
" _You have a point..._ " Brevon said, slowly getting to his feet, " _We must extract the information as soon as possible! Commander, all I wish from you is that you tell us not only all you know about the Kingdom Stone, but also where the rest of your Chaser friends are...or Lilac dies for her and your actions. Make your choice._ "  
  
"Release Lilac and Traveller," Torque commanded, "Then I'll tell you."  
  
" _...How pathetic,_ " Brevon sneered, " _Do you think I'm raving mad?_ "  
  
"...Should we take a quick vote?" Master asked again. Brevon's face twisted into an angry sneer, his hand hovering over the console. Master sprung into a panic, "Wait, no no NO-"  
  
Brevon gave him no more time. He slammed it down onto the button once more...but nothing happened.  
  
" _WHAT?!_ " Brevon roared, slamming the button multiple times, " _What is this?!_ "  
  
"Lord Brevon!" Serpentine said with panic, studying the readouts from the nearby computer, "All power to the Torture Rooms have been disabled. No electricity...and no deadlock seal!"  
  
Brevon roared with rage, dashing forward and grabbing Master by the scuff of his neck, " _YOU! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!_ "  
  
"But...but how?" Lilac asked too, her voice weak and quiet.  
  
"I'm afraid he's right..." Torque said painfully, "You are to blame. Sort of."  
  
" _TELL THEM!_ " Brevon held his own gun to Master's head, " _TELL THEM WHAT YOU KNOW, COALITION SCUM! Or poor dragon girl here will spend her final moments picking charred bits of warmonger out of her clothing! DO IT!_ "  
  
"Fine!" Torque sighed, "Lilac...has Master told you about his...old self?"  
  
"Yeah..." Lilac coughed, "He said he went crazy...called himself the War Master...went on a rampage...then stopped. Moved on. Became a vigilante."  
  
"I'm afraid his tale doesn't end there..." Torque said, " There's...another Warmonger."  
  
There was a sudden crash as the doors behind Brevon were suddenly blasted directly off of their hinges. They skidded across the ground, flooring Prince Dail and knocking Serpentine into the wall, before finally stopping before Brevon. A number of the fishbowl soldiers from before streamed out of the now smoldering doorframe and into the room. Only now these soldiers were different, with all green parts and lights now a dark and bloody red and unusual weapons in their hands. They kept their rifles trained on everyone around the pillar, aim unwavering and forms like a mass of glowing red lights. Some of the soldiers in the back parted like a sea, and another figure slowly emerged from it; the cloaked figure! His cloak was the same old black it was, only now it was covered in blood and guts, emitting a husky and disgusting scent from across the room. His eyes were still the red dots they always had been and his gaping maw of razor sharp teeth glowed a dim red in the glow of the lava. His voice, however, was incredibly different; it was no longer mangled and obscured by static, but...normal. A medium-pitch, clear voice. And a very familiar one at that.  
  
" **You rang?** " the creature laughed evilly himself, almost waltzing around the room, " **Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen! We are tonight's entertainment!** "  
  
" _YOU..._ " Brevon growled, dropping Master to the floor and digging out his own weapon, " _You will pay for this!_ "  
  
Brevon roared some sort of war cry and charged forward, slashing wildly at the cloaked figure. The figure did very little until the last second, then vanished. Brevon stopped and looked around. He was nowhere to be seen. He must've killed him! Brevon laughed evilly, staring out towards the red soldiers, thinking of his latest victory. Little did he know the creature had only flash-stepped behind him, eyes glazing over in some sort of anger...and the Blade of Hysteria in his hands.  
  
The creature savored the moment, then dug the Blade deep into Brevon's shoulder. He yelled in pain, twirling around and clawing at the knife lodged in him while the creature moved the Blade around inside the wound, making it bigger and bigger. Finally, he forced the knife straight through, cleaving through Brevon's arm with almost no trouble at all. Brevon screamed in agony as his now separated arm bounced to the floor and went limp as well, which the creature responded to by delivering a Haymaker straight into the side of his head, knocking him to the floor where he was kept by the soldiers.  
  
" **...And there's your change, sir...** " the creature said manically, wiping the blood and bits off Blade and sprinkling them onto Brevon's twitching body, " **Have a nice day...** " he turned to the others, such as Dail, " **Does anyone else wanna parley?! NO? Good...** "  
  
"You're..." Lilac wheezed, "You're insane!"  
  
" **Takes one to know one...doesn't it?** " the creature grinned.  
  
"...Are you..." Lilac asked, "Are you me?"  
  
" **Tsk tsk. So slow to catch on...** " the creature said happily, " **I mean, come on Traveller! Lilac, old girl! Have the clues not been there? Who in this world would know the No-Zone Multiverse Rules? Who would have a massive grudge against you? And who...** " he pointed to his own wrists, " **Would have marks on their wrists like that?** "  
  
Master checked the hand that held Blade. Large scars in the wrist. Almost like...barbed wire.  
  
"Blade..." Master said weakly, "No..."  
  
"I'm sorry, kid..." Blade said too, "I had no choice...it's him!"  
  
" **Indeed it is...** " the creature said, slowly grabbing his hood and flipping it down. He was a hedgehog, brown-furred with black and red dotted eyes, clad in sunglasses and a mouth full of fangs. A bit like Master. Infact...  
  
He WAS Master.  
  
"War Master..." Master cried out.  
  
"Oh, don't act surprised," War Master giggled, his voice boisterous and ham-fisted, "You should've known better! Can't keep a crazy bastard down. Who would be there to spoil the punchline?"  
  
"So..." Prince Dail said, exhausted, "Our adviser...has been my enemy? My father's killer?"  
  
"No kid," War Master growled, "For the final time, it was Brevon! HE killed your father! HE tortured you for a straight week! HE made you his bitch!"  
  
"No, it isn't true!" Dail pleaded, "It can't be!"  
  
"Look inside yourself..." War Master grinned, "It'll come. Now then..." he turned to Lilac, "I believe we have some business to attend to..."  
  
"So you're War Master..." Lilac said, keeping her composure despite the agony she was in, "The killer of countless trillions..."  
  
"...Sort of," War Master said, "Torque was right; Traveller didn't tell you everything. I'm a clone. Created from the dying embers of the intelligent embodiment of this creature they called Solaris. They wanted me to do great things, kill many people, be easily controllable. But that don't fly with me! So, I...did the only sensible thing by killing my creators and striking it out on my own. I followed Traveler EVERYWHERE, taunting and fighting him at every possible opportunity. Even had my own mechanical version of the Blade of Hysteria to use...until he destroyed it, shot me in the stomach and left me to bleed out in the middle of a snowy wasteland. So I'm here to..as you say, settle the score. And cause as much chaos as possible on the way! It's what the real War Master would want. You may call me... _Clone Master._ "  
  
"So you manipulated everyone..." Torque said damningly, "The Majister, Mayor Zao, Dail, Brevon, us...all to get closer to Traveller and cause chaos!"  
  
"I know!" Clone Master said gleefully, pointing around the entire room, "I'm such a rockstar! I played all you chumps like fiddles and you never questioned me. The cloak, the eyes, the teeth, the voice...no-one thought I was a bit dubious? Like, no-one at all? No wonder you all go to war on a regular basis! No wonder Carol chose the one smart thing to do; leave. Go back to the Red Scarves and re-join their ranks."  
  
"Wha..." Lilac said, tears welling up, "What? She's not coming to save us? She's abandoned me?"  
  
"AND Milla can't help you either," Clone Master said, laughing, "She's run off to join her. I...think. Maybe she just doesn't want to be seen with an utter...psychopath."  
  
"Do you mean yourself..." Torque asked, "Or Traveller?"  
  
Clone Master slowly turned to Torque, "...What's the difference? Well, that's kind of a lie, there are a LOT of differences. It's just that, well, they don't show on the surface. You people don't know the first thing about someone like me...but I'm here now. I can show you. I WILL show you. I will show you just how far someone like me can go-"  
  
" _DIE, FECCULENT VERMIN!_ " Brevon roared. He had got out of the small pile of soldiers he was forced under and even now dashing towards War Master again, bleeding dagger in his one remaining hand. However, this time, he was stopped. He was pulled to his back and restrained by a flash of green, slowly forming to a certain royal panda. Prince Dail, quite clearly having mulled the given information over in his mind, was now holding Brevon's one good arm while two soldiers grabbed his legs and forced him to a kneeling position. Clone Master was clearly not amused, clicking his fingers and signaling another soldier to come up behind him. He did so, holding some kind of camera and training it on Brevon's face.  
  
"Well...as I was saying...I'll show you just how far someone like me can go. And then..." Clone Master grinned, taking Blade out and holding it to Brevon's throat, "And then...I will break you."  
  
And, with a roar, he slowly dragged the Blade across Brevon's throat. Both were screaming as the Blade dug into the insect's hard skin and then came flying out the other side with an audible schwing. Prince Dail let go of Brevon's remaining arm and the warlord instantly grabbed at his throat, his screams now totally replaced with a pained gurgling, as he desperately tried to stem the blood flow. Finally, his own eyes went dim and he fell forward like a sack of bricks, slamming into the floor and going limp. Clone Master watched smugly as the final breaths of air escaped his throat and his cape became stained with the rapidly expanding pool of blood forming around his neck and chest. Torque was silent, mouth agape, only slight stammering sounds escaping his throat.  
  
"Y-You...you've done it. Brevon...h-he's..."  
  
"CORRECT!" Clone Master bellowed, throwing himself in front of the camera, "Coalition of Planets, the insectoid scum of the universe, Lord Arktivus Brevon, is DEAD!"  
  
"I understand now..." Prince Dail said, visibly and vocally shaken, "I...at least I know my father has seen proper justice."  
  
"Exactly..." Clone Master said happily, slapping the Prince on the shoulder, "Glad to be of service. Now take Serpentine upstairs and...dispose of him. I have no need for snakes in MY army! Oh, and if I could have that gun you have..." Dail nodded, giving the empty Deagle to Clone Master and walking out of the room, two soldiers taking Serpentine by his arms, "Thank you! What a worm. Serpentine, I mean. Prince Dail's a good enough kid. Bit of a shame about his parents. Parent killing and torture...that's not being evil. That's just being a bastard."  
  
"Says the guy who laid waste to an entire universe..." Lilac growled, "You're just saying you dislike certain things so you look better!"  
  
"They're called 'standards', Lilac dear..." Clone Master sighed, "Even dimension killers have lines they refuse to cross..." he suddenly looked at Master, slumped in the corner, and knelt by his side, "Hey! Chin up, bucko! You're almost outta this mess! They're even referring to you by that nickname you love so much!"  
  
"But...Lilac..." Traveller wheezed, "I've got to stop her...transformation."  
  
"What is he talking about?" Lilac asked.  
  
"War Lilac..." Clone Master grinned, "This...amazing creature. This marvelous amalgamation of good and bad, of light and dark! You...past the brink of insanity. That was his mission. The tale said Master would be the one to drive you nuts. So of course, he went in to steer this timeline back onto the main path. But as even his own mind told him..." he grinned, slowly shoving a spare magazine into the Deagle, "He never had the wheel."  
  
"Wait...so YOU'LL drive her to insanity! You'll be dooming a planet to four years of non-stop genocide! Why're you doing this?!" Traveller shouted, "Why not leave her be?!"  
  
"Oh, trust me, I wish I could!" Clone Master said, "Had I any other choice, I'd be walking the other way with you and you alone in tow. But I need a replacement. You know clones. They...degrade. Not mentally, as fiction tells you, but just in strength. This body of mine is dying, faster than you could ever imagine, and I'm pretty sure I don't have long left. But YOU..." he approached Lilac and took her scarred and blistered arm, "Your body is pure, strong and just so freaking NORMAL! It would be perfect! Four years, you say? My money's on EIGHT!"  
  
"I'll never fall into your ways!" Lilac said defiantly, struggling within her bonds again to almost no avail, "Just let...let me go..."  
  
"That's it, get weaker..." Clone Master said in a mock-soothing tone, slowly stroking the dragon's arm, "Those ghastly electric shocks have sent you to the brink of death. Well, near enough to it anyway...nah, that's not good enough."  
  
Clone Master racked the slide of the new loaded Deagle and jammed it squarely into Lilac's gut. He laughed wildly and pulled the trigger. The resultant gunshot was ear-splittingly loud, drowning out Lilac's presumed screech of pain. War Master finally lowered the smoking gun and observed his work; a large gaping hole was now in Lilac's stomach, almost neatly matching Traveller's own. Lilac had once again gone into shock, stuttering and gasping for air that just wasn't there anymore in this stuffy environment. Clone Master looked sad if anything, slowly stroking Lilac's ruined hair.  
  
"I'm so sorry, kid, I really am..." Clone Master sighed, "You've already gone through the wringer enough today as it is. Burned, sliced, electrocuted, whipped, copious amounts of stress vomit...it's sickening, really. But alas, I need to do this...NOW!" he turned to Traveller, "Traveller. You know as well as I do that firearms like...our little Deagle here don't really exist in this world. On the plus side, laser wounds are cauterized. On the minus side..."  
  
"No medical procedures in place for actual bullet wounds," Traveller said quietly, "Stomach wounds don't kill instantly. If the shock doesn't get you, you bleed out soon enough."  
  
"Gold star. Looks like old Lilac here's doomed to die a slow, painful death. Alone, unloved, forgotten within the week. Unless...we can heal her. Now I HAVE heard of these magical healing baths that can instantly restore you to full health. But I also hear the only one left is in the Majister's Royal Palace..."  
  
Traveller looked pale, "Ahh, shit..."  
  
"Yeah. After all the faff with Neera, the entire kingdom wants your heads now..." Clone Master shrugged, "So, that's out. And so are normal medical procedures since...well, there aren't any! Which leaves..." he slowly held up the Blade of Hysteria, "But one alternative..."  
  
"Don't you DARE!" Traveller was resorting to pleading now, "That infernal thing drives you crazy!"  
  
"Exactly," Clone Master said, speaking to Blade, "Blade, would you kindly set yourself to Adaptation Mode? And don't bother with the whole refusal stuff. It's still his genes in me, so you HAVE to obey. DO IT!"  
  
"...Current Setting changed to Adaptation Mode..." Blade said, his voice quiet and resigned. The weapon dimmed, the green cracks losing all green light and the gem becoming colourless. Soon, the gem flashed an orange shade, followed by the cracks befalling a similar shade indeed.  
  
"You don't want to do this!" Traveller said, "You put that Blade in that hand, this world'll be a crater in a few years time!"  
  
"A small price to pay for what she'll become. I'll make her...stronger than this. You'll see! You'll ALL see..."  
  
"NO!"  
  
Clone Master's grin widened further as he flipped the blade around and shoved the handle into Lilac's hand. Lilac's hand responded, clasping tightly around the handle as a strange, otherworldly moaning filled the air and small crackles of orange electricity spread across her body. Lilac grunted in a pained way, her breathing gasping and erratic, before she finally gave out and fell unconscious once more.  
  
"Well?" Clone Master asked, "How is she?"  
  
"She's...she's stable," Blade said, "For the moment. Preparing for adaptation. Healing wounds. Devoting all runtime to given command."  
  
"What have you done?" Torque asked, still tied to the pillar, "What've you done?!"  
  
"Saved her, what else?" Clone Master grinned for the final time, "This Blade will bring her back from the brink of death. Restore her to her physical prime, if not better! A new, uber-powerful water dragon of legend! Sash Lilac, plus plus!"  
  
"AND drive her crazy!" Traveller spat, "Change her destiny to REALLY turn her planet into a crater! You've doomed everyone on this rock, you maniac!"  
  
"I do my best..." Clone Master chuckled, winding up and punching Traveller straight in the jaw, knocking him out cold. He admired his work briefly, then trudged towards Torque, "Torque, buddy! Now, I like you. Always determined to save the universe from people, and not whine about it in the process. That puts you several points above Scarfulu there. So you know, I don't think I'll kill you."  
  
"...You won't?" Torque asked.  
  
"Nope! Think I might do this, though!" Clone Master reared up and punched Torque too, sending him packing too. He turned to the remaining soldiers, "Guards! Take these two to where the Prince has sent Serpentine. Find this ringed machine called a Portal Generator. Turn it on and throw 'em through. I can't have them screwing around with my plans now...OH, and if it tells you what universe to access; 112233C. The good old native universe. If Brevon's disgraceful torture hasn't killed them, the harsh weather and the anti-MasterSelf feelings over there should finish the job."  
  
The soldiers saluted, grabbing both of the unconscious men and dragging them out of the chamber. War Master slowly looked at Lilac's frail form, the colour slowly returning to her cheeks. Her fur was going to stay charred, though, and those tendrils were NEVER growing back, but she was going to be fine.  
  
"My own Starkiller..." Clone Master sighed happily, "Brings a tear to my eye..." he turned and walked briskly out of the room, tossing the gore-splattered cloak behind him. He quickly stopped by Brevon, admiring his work, before grabbing the bleeding dagger still clenched in his hand, and continuing towards the lifts beyond the doorframe.  
  
"Still, gotta move on, gotta start preparing. Got a lot to do. If I'm going to die here, fuck it; I'm dying in STYLE!"


	11. History's Taken Toll

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DeviantART Link: https://masterperrymartin.deviantart.com/art/Freedom-Dies-With-Me-CHAPTER-10-563218643

"Cripes, where is she?"  
  
"Well, she's gotta be around here somewhere, Sonar. Keep looking!"  
  
"Right, got it! Now where would she be...no...not here...nope...AH! Frank! I found her! Right, accessing console...argh, it's locked out! Genetic signature too. Hmm...got it! Ahem...SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"  
  
A piercing shriek met Lilac's ears and she was thrown awake from the ringing. She could feel the locks that had kept her prisoner slowly unravel and retract, with each second bringing a better loose feeling. Finally, they gave way and she collapsed to the floor, coughing and spluttering. She lay there for a few seconds, taking in precious lungfuls of air, before she finally managed to force herself to her knees. She could feel a wet, matted sensation on her clothes and the faint smell of rust told her that she was bleeding. Pretty badly, too. She cautiously opened a single eye, eyelid creaking open, before two figures came into focus before her. The first was Franky yet again, looking the same he always did, but another was by his side. She was a hedgehog, a brown one, with wild and wavy quills.  
  
"Damn..." Franky sighed, shaking his head, "We're too late."  
  
"Poor girl..." the girl sighed, "She's a wreck! I mean, look at her scales!"  
  
"Hmm..." Franky nodded, "Wrong shade of charred and bleeding grey for the season. Bit of a shame we're hallucinations and all, otherwise we could patch her up."  
  
"Sadly, we can't. I guess it's all up to that infernal demonic weapon. Even when I first met Traveller, I knew that thing would be trouble."  
  
Lilac only stared as the two bantered, silent and unblinking. Her mind was awash with memories, painful reconciliations of brief past events. Clone Master's grand entrance. Brevon's withering grin as he grabbed his spraying throat. The gunshot's pain. Oh, the pain. There was a highly agonising pain sat somewhere in her stomach, like a small sharp object had lodged itself in there and caused the area to become inflamed. Her breathing was getting heavy, every painful memory making it heavier and heavier. Finally, in her hyperventilating state, she glanced back up at the two in front of her, who were looking over her again in worry.  
  
"Is, uh..." Franky said, "Is she okay?"  
  
"Of course she isn't!" the girl cried out, "She's going into shock! Look around, there's gotta be some sorta box of painkillers somewhere! If you can, look for a blue box with yellow highlights. Certain brand from this world, should be strong enough."  
  
"Yes, Miss!" Franky said, almost mockingly, before ambling out of the room. The girl looked back on Lilac, lying on the floor and desperately trying to get fresh air in her lungs, before running over and embracing her.  
  
"Hey, hey!" she called out in a calm voice, "Look at me, look at me..." Lilac did, fighting through the pain to stare at the apparition's face, "Good. Right, try to remain calm, everything's going to be fine. We don't need you going into shock."  
  
Lilac looked a bit blank. After all, she had fallen into shock a good two times already. In fact, after all this, she was genuinely surprised she was still alive. Not to mention terrified; she thought during the torture that she was going to die, but now she was scared she might not. She was so caught up in her panic that she had still failed to notice Blade in her hand, her ruined fingers still clutching at its handle. Soon, Franky came back, nothing in hand.  
  
"Okay, I've found something," Franky said, "But I can't grab it. We'll have to get her to move."  
  
"Got it!" the girl said, turning back to the borderline catatonic Lilac, "Right, sweety? We're gonna try and move to the next room, alright? Right. Ready...one...two...THREE!"  
  
Lilac did as ordered and threw herself to her feet. Her stomach did not react well to this in the slightest and the pain increased tenfold in intensity, causing her to scream and fall to her knees. Both the girl and Franky looked at each other.  
  
"This is gonna be hard..." Franky said, scratching his head, "Sony, you're the doc here. Any suggestions?"  
  
"...I do," Sonar said quickly, "It's a long shot, but it might work. Ever heard of the Placebo Effect?" Franky nodded, "Good. Then you know its the phenomenon of some quack science actually having a positive effect because the patient believes it does. That won't work with the pain, but if we...'help' her, carry her across the room, she might just make it the cabinet. Ready? Right, lift her up!"  
  
Franky did so, taking Lilac's left arm and helping Lilac to her feet. She felt Franky's arm wrapped around her's, despite all her knowledge of this being a hallucination, and she felt far less pain as a result. Sonar took her right arm and, with both in tow, Lilac began to slowly hobble towards the next room. The pain in her stomach still rang out and she grunted with every other step, but the pain was nowhere near where it once was. She soldiered on, determined to stay heroic and stoic no matter what, and finally crossed the room and into the other. This was the entry point from which Clone Master had attacked the group, and it showed with the shards of metal and the faint smell of smoke. Some of the robots under Brevon's employ, such as the red orbs with eyes, lay broken by the wayside and scattered across the floor. Lilac looked towards the girl seemingly called Sonar, who simply and silently nodded towards something in the corner of the next room. Inside was a green box hanging on the wall, a white cross inscribed on it. Lilac reached out her hand and grabbed the handle, giving it a pained twist and throwing the door to the side.  
  
"Alright, we made it!" Sonar patted Lilac, "Nice! So, where was it?"  
  
"About..." Franky pointed to the corner of the box, "Here. Behind the bandages. Might wanna use those too."  
  
"Right..." Sonar said, "Right, Lilac, we'll leave you be while you sort yourself out. We'll scout ahead and be back with a way outta here. okay? Okay."  
  
Lilac sighed, looking to talk to Franky again, but he was gone. Lilac's face twisted into a confused sneer and she turned back to Sonar, who naturally had vanished too. She shrugged, unknowingly dropping the still offline Blade into her belt and slowly reaching for the painkillers in the back of the cabinet. She checked the logo; blue, with yellow highlights and "PAINAWAIT" on the front. A very high quality brand indeed, despite its obvious and somewhat laughable typo. But Lilac didn't care. Even with the fake help, she was in almost crippling agony and any relief was desperately needed. She opened the box and removed the contents; a syringe full of extra-powerful painkillers. She quickly slipped the needle into her wrist and pushed down on the plunger. It took a while, but soon the pain slowly vanished, allowing her to relax. It felt so...quaint, being this numb. She felt incredibly detached from this world, like she no longer belonged. Perhaps, she thought, this was what Traveller felt like.  
  
She snapped out of it, shaking her head to offset her lightheadedness, before grabbing the bandages. She cut off a section and wrapped it around her arm. Then another around her leg. And another around her head. She wasn't even bleeding for the most part, but with the bandages on she felt a sort of comfort, an odd warmth in the covered areas that made her feel better about herself. Lilac sighed; she wasn't acting herself and she knew it. Quiet, timid, taking solace in removing pain. Seeing things, too. A lot of things. What on Avalice was wrong with her? She suddenly felt faint, hitting the wall and sliding down to the floor.  
  
"Wha..." Lilac mumbled, grabbing her head, "What's going on? Where am I? What's wrong with me? So many questions, not enough answers!"  
  
"That's kinda what you get when you wake up too early," came a disgruntled voice. Lilac looked shocked for a split second, before she reached down into her belt, pulling the obstruction she could feel out. She let out a pained moan when the object in her hands was the Blade of Hysteria, glowing the same old bright shade of green it always did.  
  
"No..." Lilac moaned, "It wasn't a nightmare!"  
  
"Sadly, no..." Blade said, "On the plus side, you're my new Master now! On the minus side...well, you're my new Master now. Sorry."  
  
"I'm your Master?" Lilac asked, "How? Can't you just...fly off?"  
  
"No," Blade sighed, "Y'see, the Hellbloods were primitive, but they certainly weren't dumb. They didn't want the Gods in their Blades just leaving, so they managed to make the Blades...complacent. Have different modes and always be tied to one specific user no matter what."  
  
"So...the Blade itself won't let you leave, is programmable and has different 'modes'?" Lilac asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"...That sounds like something a twelve year old would dream up."  
  
"Yeah..." Blade sounded a bit annoyed, "But that's how it happens. This thing's got a number of states, too; there's a mode for that Hysteria thing, then a form for recharging afterwards, a mode to absorb foreign DNA for testing and integration purposes and even a mode when I can be used as a boomerang!"  
  
Lilac's face lit up, "Ooh!"  
  
"Don't try that one though. Took off two of Master's fingers when he first used it, heh heh. Good thing the healing factor helped to sew them back on!"  
  
"Well if you have a healing factor..." Lilac said, pointing to her already stained bandages, "Why'm I still...well, like this?"  
  
"I was getting to that," Blade sighed, "Before he gave me to you, War Master activated the Adaptation Mode. That's where the DNA signature of my main user is erased and a new one is copied in through touch. Mainly...yours."  
  
"And you did that?"  
  
"I kinda had to," Blade explained, "Clone or not, War Master still have a similar DNA structure to good old vanilla Master. Enough to force me to obey his commands, anyway. And he made REAL sure you couldn't just give it to someone else. He went to great lengths to knobble one's healing factor, leaving it active just enough to heal the gunshot before shorting out afterwards. He also reduced the separation range to a mere two metres...He even disabled Adaptation Mode, and I'm FAIRLY sure you don't know the combination to unlock it And frankly, it's been so long I've forgotten it too. Basically? You're stuck with me."  
  
"But I don't want to use you," Lilac sighed, "You're a weapon of war, you drive people insane!"  
  
"Well, I don't, really..." Blade said, "But I tend to make the scenario of insanity a bit more likely. Amplifies that Sound of Madness. Remember that?"  
  
Lilac paused. Yeah, she remembered that. That little voice in your head that told you to perform heinous deeds. A little whisper, a suggestion. Lilac had heard it before, a small whisper in the back of her mind, often talking about Spade or her own past.  
  
 _'Keep stealing...'_  the voice would say,  _'Those richer ones deserve it. They steal from the poor all the time, with only excess as their forte. Steal from them, give them payback...'_  
  
And every time, Lilac would shake her head and the voice was vanish. For how long, only time would tell. Sometimes it would be a week, sometimes a month. But it'd soon return. Soon be there. And now, in this quiet, the voice was back. But it was no longer a mere suggestive whisper, not anymore.  
  
 _'Come on!'_  it was shrieking,  _'You should've killed Brevon yourself! He was scum, every last part of him! You really think you could just let him go so you could battle him another day? Yeah, just let the world-killing maniac go! THAT won't bite you in the backside or anything!'_  
  
"G-Get out of my head!" Lilac yelped, "I've already got two voices in there already!"  
  
"I'll take that as a yes, then," Blade said, "Look, Lilac. Your impending insanity isn't the main concern right now. We're still in the Thermal Base, which Clone Master seems to be in the process of cannibalising for his own deeds. Look!"  
  
Lilac looked up. There was a screen nearby, seemingly linked up to a security camera. In it was Clone Master, sitting in another room somewhere topside. His cloak had been hastily removed and spread across the torture chamber's floor, so Lilac could see his upper torso quite clearly. Unlike Traveller, he wore no scarf but otherwise had very similar apparel, His jacket was the same dark shade of navy blue that the other had been, only now with a few obvious signs of repair and a green bandoleer loosely hung over his left shoulder. His sleeves were bunched up at the elbows, carrying on as either bandages or sports tape until ending in the same black fingerless gloves Traveller used as well. At the moment, he was lazily spinning around in a chair, talking into some kind of recorder.  
  
"Well, I don't know..." Clone Master was sighing, "I really don't understand how he didn't get my arrival. I thought planting that copy of Five Nights at Freddy's The Movie would've tipped him off for sure! Oh well. Next time, I won't be so subtle..."  
  
"We need to move and we need to move now."  
  
"You're right, Blade..." Lilac said, "But...what about the other two?"  
  
"Other two?" Blade asked, "You mean you see 'em too? Franky and that medic chick?"  
  
"Sonar, yeah," Lilac shrugged, "Said they'd find a way out for us! Let's try and meet 'em halfway, eh? No point sitting around wailing."  
  
Lilac grabbed the wall and, even with her weak grip, slowly inched up the wall until she finally got to her feet. She slowly stumbled back over to the main Torture Room, her walking motion a angled shamble. She stopped to stare at Brevon again, his once loud and foreboding figure now crumpled and shrinking in his slowly diminishing blood spurt. Lilac could not bring herself to believe it; Brevon was dead. This madman, this devil among devils, a destroyer of planets across the universe. Dead. A crumpled, bleeding lump with all of his energy sapped and drained by this brand new threat.  
  
"It's...it's kinda funny," Lilac said, "How someone who destroyed so much went down so fast."  
  
"Not the first of his type to end up like that," Blade said, his voice haunting, "Even if you can kill for your country, it won't make you stronger. Everyone dies. Even Gods bleed. So don't think you're invincible just because you have me at hand. Just...far less likely to die. Just like Brevon. You're certainly not invincible mentally."  
  
"I know..." Lilac sighed, slowly hobbling over to a shard of glass on the nearby wall, "I knew this was insane. I knew I couldn't take on someone like him. And he was right. Why DID I throw my life away to try?"  
  
"Because you wanted to be the hero," Blade mumbled, "Because you knew the alternative would be worse. Remember, even without War Master, Brevon would have free range over the universe if you weren't there to try and stop him. There are many universes and timelines that provide evidence for that. There's nothing wrong with the being the hero...just as long as you never try to do it alone."  
  
"What about Traveller?" Lilac asked, bitter, "He went alone."  
  
"Not really," Blade said, "He's spent a lot of time with temporary allies. Hell, when we first set off on our path for redemption, we had help from about seven other people! It's just that you...I mean, War Lilac, got us at a poor moment."  
  
Lilac said nothing more, only looking at herself within the glass shard's reflection. She was an absolute mess; what wasn't charred grey fur was blistered purple skin, or the white and slowly stained bandages that crossed both arms and the right side of her head. Her eyes were bloodshot, her horns were cracked and had small patches of ash stained onto them and a small trickle of blood was rolling out of the side of her mouth. But, perhaps the worst, was the lack of her tendrils. Lilac tried to reach to where they would've once been, but nothing. Empty, cold, wet space that smelled faintly of rust. Lilac went nauseous again; she had had those tendrils all her life and the fact they were just...gone was literally hard to stomach. It almost felt like she had one of her arms cut off at the shoulder. Hell, even THAT would have been preferable, since at least she could get a new arm from somewhere. Perhaps the Royal Palace's surgeons could make a new one. But not the tendrils. And not now. It almost brought tears to Lilac's eyes, if she had any left; her beauty and grace, her purity, her innocence...taken. Stolen from her by heartless space warriors and equally disgusting madmen from beyond her comprehension. The voices were coming back now, even louder.  
  
 _'Look at you...'  
  
'Destroyed, disabled. half comprised of ashes and flames...'  
  
'No better than the last couple of fools who fell under Brevon's rule.'  
  
'YOU'  
  
'ARE'  
  
BROKEN.'  
  
'And it's all because of Carol....'_  
  
"Wha..." Lilac mumbled.  
  
 _'Carol abandoned you!'  
  
'Went back to Red Scarves, back to the ideals she tried to leave behind!'  
  
'No better than Spade! No better than Traveller!'  
  
'She left you to  **DIE**!'_  
  
"NO!" Lilac screamed, thrashing around, "STOP SAYING THAT! STOP IT!!!"  
  
"...Lilac?" came Sonar's voice above all the self-loathing. Lilac snapped out of her struggles and turned to see the brown hedgehog behind, "Hon? We've found a way out. We've gotta go, now!"  
  
"Yeah!" Franky scooted into view too, "Look, War Master's gathered up all of his troops and has taken all the materials he can from the base. We really don't wanna be on this thing when the charges blow and it goes under!"  
  
"Y-Yeah..." Lilac said, her voice wavering a bit, "Let's get going."  
  
"After we get out, we can plan where we're going to go," Sonar said, "Unless...you have an idea already?"  
  
"...I do..." Lilac said, her voice growing slightly angry, "We're going to the Shuigang Outskirts. To the Red Scarves' base of operations. We're gonna pay some...old friends of mine a visit..."  
  
========  
Meanwhile  
========  
  
"You make an...interesting point, Carol. Even though I still don't quite believe you."  
  
Carol sighed, but at least she knew Spade knew what he said. He was reluctant to say it, but he seemed to be glad that Carol had returned to the Red Scarves. It had been a good three or so hours since Carol had abandoned Lilac and that Travelling psychopath to go back to the closest thing she could call home; the Red Scarves. A bunch of murderous thieves that only stole and killed for themselves, but at the very least they kept it local. Unlike...others. Carol had no regrets, no sadness in her heart, no tears in her eyes. This was all Lilac's fault, she was sure of it. Gallivanting off around the planet, getting herself killed, performing work for people who actively hated her. And that meant pretty much everyone; The Majister wanted her head now that Neera had been...disposed of, Mayor Zao cared little for anyone but himself and Prince Dail was still insane and working for Brevon. Well, to her at least. That only left two alternatives; go back to the treehouse (which was within Shang Tu's jurisdiction, just) or do the unthinkable and return to the Red Scarves to see if they could do anything. Carol chose the latter, obviously, and she was currently in Spade's 'room', as it were, within the base. He was leaning against the wall while Carol had helped herself to a chair within the room. She had spent the last five minutes talking to Spade about what had happened, from the first part with Torque's ship crashing to when she had left Lilac behind in the rain. Spade was staring at her, his face never changing from the stoic sneer it always was, but even then Carol was getting the impression he was slowly accepting what she was saying.  
  
"But, it's true!" Carol said, "Every part of it! We've been led halfway around the world by a weedy alien and a psychopath! I just...wanna get away from that."  
  
"Interesting..." Spade said again, "At least now you're making valid arguments. A lot more than your scarved friend from before."  
  
"He's insane," Carol said bitterly, "Struck countless down in cold blood, just because he wanted to. At least when I was with your killers, I...we did it to keep ourselves going."  
  
"We are much more than that," Spade sighed, shaking his head, "It's just that goody-goody heroes like your old friends are blind to middle ground. We're all either paragons of nicety or baby-eating monsters like my brother. Only fit to kill and take over the land with its Freedom Fighters. Until they become the thing they hated most. It's almost a shame. You speak so lowly of your old friend. Considering how you two met in this very base, it's not like you at all."   
  
"I'm not putting my neck on the line for people who actively want me dead or incarcerated," Carol said, "Lilac's gone off the deep end and I don't want to follow anyone in the jaws of death."  
  
"Hmm. Well, welcome back, Carol. For all that's worth."  
  
"Thanks, Spade."  
  
"Master Spade!" came a new voice. It was one of the members of the group, a female snowcat, white in fur colour with yellow eyes and wild hair. She was clad in clothing very similar to Carol's own, but a bit more basic. After all, she was just a recruit while Carol had jumped up higher before she quit. Regardless, the snowcat kept speaking, "Apologies for intruding, but we have an intruder in the base's courtyard! A female, some sorta dog, answers to 'Milla'?"  
  
Carol sighed wearily, "I knew she'd come for me. Spade, I'll handle this. Wanna watch the fireworks?"  
  
"What, like the ones you pulled off in the past?" Spade said, his face still not changing, "I'd never turn it down. Thank you for the heads-up, Neige."  
  
The snowcat nodded, smiling, before running out of the room, alongside Carol and then Spade. The three dashed down the hallway, lined with purple wallpaper and wooden supports, before bursting out of the doors into the courtyard. It was still now in the middle of the day, the night having long since been chased away, covering everything in a clear light. Other members of the group, both cloaked and not, surrounded the many exits and were sitting in the seats against the west wall, stacked almost to the ceiling. And there, waiting patiently, was indeed Milla. She was standing stock still, upright and arms by her side, clearly terrified but maintaining herself anyway. She looked at Carol and the others entering the room, taking note of Carol's clothing; far from her original black shirt and shorts, she was now clad in a stylised red tunic of some sort, cut into strips at the bottom and with lavender bandages tied around the waist like a rudimentary belt. She was also wearing a red headband, red gloves very similar to her old ones and some red boots to match. Finally, she wore her old red scarf and a broach as well, one with some odd language Milla couldn't understand.  
  
"Carol!" Milla cried out, obviously happy to see her old friend, "It's me, Milla!"  
  
"Milla..." Carol said, "What're you doing here? Are you here to join us? 'Cause I GUESS the Red Scarves could do with a few more members..."  
  
"No!" Milla said, "Carol, I've come to take you back! Lilac and the Master guy've gone storming Brevon's base! They might get killed!" she began to go a bit teary-eyed, "I don't want them to get killed..."  
  
"Well too bad for them!" Carol grumbled, "Seems like I got out at the last second. Why even come here?"  
  
"Because Traveller told me to," Milla explained, "He left me a note and everything!" She quickly took out the note and gave it to Carol. She scanned the letter with intent, reading it out loud.  
  
"Milla..." Carol began reading, "Lilac's gone and I have a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach this is the day it all goes wrong. My mission was to keep Lilac sane, doubtless I've already driven her mad with shock and grief. If I'm not here when you wake up, leave this cave and find Carol. Best guess she's gone to re-join the Red Scarves, it's not like she's got any other possible crutches at this point. I know you want to help, but Lilac's right; you shouldn't be put in the line of fire because of some dumb mistakes others made. Trust me, you'll be safe. War Master..."  
  
"Keep Lilac sane?" Neige asked.  
  
"He told us about this old form of his called 'War' or something..." Milla said, "He scares me!"  
  
"War Master..." Carol sighed, "His destructive alter ego. What turned him into the untrustworthy...thing he is. What made me turn my back."  
  
"What did he do?" Neige asked again.  
  
Carol looked bitter, "Stabbed Neera-Li in the chest. Went crazy and cleaved her head clean off."  
  
"Hmm..." Spade said, smiling, "This explains why he said he wasn't a killer anymore. I mean, clearly!"  
  
"He said this is the day something horrible happens to Lilac!" Milla cried, tugging on Carol's arm, "We've gotta go save her!"  
  
"NO!" Carol yelled, pushing Milla away, "If Lilac wanna goes toe-to-toe against some kill-crazy madman and get herself killed or worse, leave me out of it! I'm not throwing my life away for some idiotic cause!"  
  
" **HAHAHAHA...** " came a scratchy voice, " **A shame. You were doing such a good job up until now...** "  
  
Carol stopped dead in her tracks. That voice...scratchy, scrambled, laced with static...it was familiar. It was the voice of that cloaked fellow from within the Majister's prison cells!  
  
"That voice!" Carol called out, "I know that voice!"  
  
"Sir!" came another member, "There appears to be an errant transmission coming in on the TV in room 24. And room 46. And room...EVERYWHERE!"  
  
"A worldwide broadcast..." Spade said, "Been quite some time before we've had that. Punch it up to the courtyard TV."  
  
Carol looked up. The good old Courtyard TV. One of the biggest TV screens in the region, about the length of the tower it was attached to and quite high as well. It was set up high up in the courtyard, sitting opposite the stand seats. Many a day had Carol been here during her lessons, watching the giant screen and noting all of the things on it. Like, EVERYTHING. Just in case there was a test. A thief had to be smart as well as strong, after all, and this large screen helped many of 'em over the years. Now, however, it was awash with static and monstrous sounds. There was a sudden shriek and then the picture focused. It was indeed the cloaked figure on the screen, his red pinprick eyes all that was visible.  
  
" **This is a message from the Order...** " the creature started with his mangled voice, before he quickly stopped and walked off screen. The voice stopped, returning to a more normal voice, "Oh fuck, wrong franchise, um..."  
  
"Him again?" Spade asked.  
  
"Wait...you know him?" Carol asked too, turning to the leader himself.  
  
"Yes..." Spade said, hanging his head, "He appeared in our base, took out our best guys and...beat me in a one-on-one fight."  
  
"Well that's not hard..." Carol teased, "Dodge those cards and get in close and you crumple like a soggy slice of bread."  
  
"Yes..." Spade growled, "And after he was done...fighting, he said he could help me and my group. Make us stronger. Tell me who my father's killer was."  
  
"Did it happen to be a certain Lilac, Sash?" Carol asked, to which Spade nodded, "Of course. The guy's been playing us all for fools. Leading us to this...trap, I guess."  
  
"But who is he?" Neige asked.  
  
"I don't know..." Carol said, looking back at the screen, "But I sure wanna find out..."  
  
"Right..." the creature walked back up to the screen. His mangled voice was now completely gone, instead being an almost generic voice, "Ahem. Ladies and Gentlemen. This is a worldwide broadcast, designed to reach the leaders of the three warring Kingdoms; Shang Tu, Shang Mu and Shuigang. I have assisted all of you at one point or another, helping you make more ground, telling you what will happen and what to do, all so you could get to this point. And I'm sorry, but..." he drew back his hood and grinned, "I've been playing you for all the fools in the world."  
  
Carol looked on in shock while Milla whimpered in horror; the creature was a brown hedgehog, with sunglasses and wild and unkempt quills. It was Traveller...or was it? His skin was paler, his quills were wilder, his teeth were fangs and his eyes were the red pinpricks the cloaked creature had. Gears were turning furiously in Carol's head until, finally, she reached the only possible conclusion.  
  
"No..." she said, still in shock, "It can't be him!"  
  
"IT IS!" the creature roared, almost as if he heard Carol, "Tremble before me, Planet Avalice, for I am the War Master!"  
  
"War Master?!" Spade called out.  
  
"The one and only..." the creature said, a deranged grin across his face, "Well, sort of. I will be your psychopath for the evening, doing...psychotic stuff. Destroying buildings, shooting to wound! And executing the wounded, of course. But I am not here to brag at you. Never goes well for a villain. Instead, I am here to show my dominance and give you fair warning. For all those who have lived in fear of the great warlord, Arktivus Brevon, I assure you...he won't be going anywhere anytime soon. Play the tape, Dail me old boy!"  
  
The screen conked out for a few seconds, before it showed a video. It was directed in a room, some sort of red room with lava flowing nearby. A room in this "thermal base", then. And indeed, in the middle of the floor, was Brevon himself. He looked ghastly, with only a single arm to his own. He was kneeling on the floor, some shadowed figure holding him there, with blood slowly pooling around his barely upright form.  
  
"You're looking at this right, people..." Clone Master was saying, his voice clearly an overlay, "Lord Arktivus Brevon. Warlord. Murderer. Killed, destroyed and tortured his way across the universe. A man that many have seen before they die, often by his hands. But none of that mattered...none of that mattered at all..."  
  
The video kept playing, only now Clone Master was in the video, walking towards Brevon with some glowing blade outstretched. Again Carol's lips went dry; that was the Blade of Hysteria, no doubt about it. And it only got worse. The voiceover went dark and and gravelly.  
  
"...When he met me!"  
  
There was a single second before the video showed something truly horrific. Clone Master had put the Blade up to Brevon's throat and now began to slice it across his throat. Brevon's screams were drowned out by the roars of Clone Master and the screams of some of the Red Scarves in the crowd. Carol acted fast and shielded Milla's eyes from the video while she screamed alongside them. Clone Master finally got through the entire throat and stepped back, while the figure in the back let go of Brevon's arm. Brevon grabbed his throat to stem the blood flow, but it was nowhere near enough. He finally crashed to the ground, dead.  
  
"Ladies and Gentlemen..." the screen faded back to Clone Master's ravaged smile, "Dragons and Wildcats. Basset Hounds...and the entirety of the Coalition of Planets. Lord Brevon, killer of a thousand worlds, is dead. Killed. Slain. By MY hands..." the creature growled, "Think about that. All that training, all that bravery, all those soldiers and weapons...mattered little to someone like me. So what kind of trouble will I have defeating some bird king who lets his lackeys do all his bitch work and some garishly garbed midget bloke who's head is stuffed up his backside?!" there was a pause, where Clone Master's smile vanished, replaced by a growling sneer, "The Dreadnought rises tomorrow. 5PM. Be prepared..."  
  
And with that, the video cut out.  
  
==============  
Meanwhile, again  
==============  
  
Snow. Lots and lots of snow. It was all Torque could see when he finally opened his eyes. A howling white wasteland with almost no other features to speak of. He groaned, getting to his feet. He was footsore, hungry and thirsty, but at least he was uninjured. Well, beyond a black eye, he noted. He prodded the swollen eye itself and he winced from the pain. The extreme cold was helping, slightly, but it still hurt. He thought back to the events of before. Clone Master dragging his weapon across Brevon's throat was the only thing that came to mind. Well that, and him giving Lilac the weapon itself. He sighed. Brevon was dead, but someone seemingly even worse had taken his place. For all his talk of standards, Clone Master was not bound to the affable characteristics that Brevon had stuck to. He was not polite, or concerting, all he was was brutal. Even Brevon give his victims a quick death (knife in the chest of his commander notwithstanding), while Clone Master made his own as drawn out and agonising as possible. How ironic. Still, Torque had failed in his mission. And, seeing that Blade change hands, so had Traveller.   
  
But now he was nowhere to be found and Torque was alone. At least, he thought he was. Torque began to squint and soon found a body-like shape half-buried in the snow. He rushed over there, rolling the figure onto his back and brushing as much snow off of him as possible. It WAS Traveller. He was unconscious, scarf removed and sunglasses shattered. His jacket had ripped at the midsection, and so had his stomach wound. Even now fresh blood was pouring out of the wound, though now in small supply.  
  
"Oh no!" Torque panicked, "The wound! Wake up!" he brung his hand up and slapped it across Traveller's face. He responded instantly, jerking to the side and groaning.  
  
"Ahh, Chaos..." he groaned, "How many people are gonna slap me today?"  
  
"Traveller!" Torque called out again.  
  
"...Torque!" Traveller called out to, seemingly happy despite his own state, "You're alive! Good..."  
  
"Good?" Torque called out, "You're dying and we're stuck in a wasteland! Where even are we?!"  
  
"The Ice Caps..." Traveller said, chuckling softly, "Cheeky devil. Coldest place in the region. Completely uninhabitable. Leave someone here to die and no-one will ever find 'em."  
  
"You're bleeding out badly, just hang on!" Torque said, "I can get you some help, we just gotta get out of here!"  
  
"No, that won't do..." Traveller sighed, his eyelids going limp, "I...I've fucked up enough in my life, Torque old boy. My time is way past. But you're still young, smart, innocent. You can do all the things I never did. The multiverse needs someone like you...and not me."  
  
"Traveller, no!" Torque said, shaking the nearly limp body, "Don't do this!"  
  
"Why?" Traveller sighed a final time, "I've got nothing left to live for. I've failed my last mission, lost my only friends...now all that's left is to...well, throw it all away. I'm just...gonna take a nap. Wake me up...when I'm not some kill-crazy bastard anymore..."  
  
Traveller said no more, only falling to the snow again. His eyes shut. His breathing ceased.  
  
"Traveller..." Torque cried out, "TRAVELLER NO!" he pounded furiously on his chest. Nothing. Finally, he gave up and collapsed next to the body. He was at his wits end; no plan, no backup...no hope. Even his thoughts of it not getting any worse were swiftly removed from reality, because there was a similar slithering sound slowly approaching from the front. It was a certain cyborg snake, a single functioning laser pistol in his hand, his eyes glowing in the heavy storm.  
  
"Serpentine..." Torque growled.  
  
"Commander..." Serpentine growled too, a grin across his face, "I suppose you got dumped here too, huh? Well, allow me to do you a favour..."  
  
"...Fine..." Torque sighed, sensing no way out of this, "...Make it quick."  
  
"I will..." the snake cackled a final time.  
  
Torque shut his left eye, slowly awaiting the laser bolt that would end this whole mission. It fired, its shot sound whipping the air...but Torque felt nothing. Instead the bolt had sailed harmlessly into the air, because at the last second some shadowy figure had burst out of nowhere and tackled Serpentine to the ground.  
  
"C'MERE, ASSHOLE!" the creature growled, some sort of grin across his face too. Serpentine obliged and charged, screeching all the while. They fought, with Serpentine throwing two punches and landing neither. The black creature responded by throwing a punch directly into Serpentine's face, sending him reeling. Serpentine soon recovered from that and swung his pistol at the creature three times, the last time causing him to jam the gun into the snow, where it got stuck. The creature was all too happy to take this opportunity, kicking the snake in the back and following up with a left AND right hook, which sent Serpentine crashing to the ground. Finally, the creature grabbed one of the robotic arms and pulled with all his might. He strained with the effort, but soon wrenched the arm completely free from the socket of the suit and brought it crashing down upon the snake's head, throwing him to the floor and knocking him out for good.  
  
Torque watched in amazement, slowly going numb from the cold, while the creature brushed his hands and then looked at him and Traveller.  
  
"There he is..." the creature said, "Oi! Medi-Chick! Amelia wasn't lying! I've found them!"


	12. A Sickened Mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DeviantART Link: https://masterperrymartin.deviantart.com/art/Freedom-Dies-With-Me-CHAPTER-11-564615028

==========  
One Year Previous  
==========  
  
Chucking out time. Again. The young wildcat sighed heavily. She was starting to wonder if it had ever been a good idea, joining the Red Scarves. A group of thieves and killers. Gentlemanly thieves and smart killers, she had to admit, but nevertheless. She had been 'studying' with them for, what, about three years now? Almost every day was spent waking in some low-quality hellhole, then dragging herself to their sorta-underground base to sit on this giant set of seats and listen for a couple of hours on what it took to be a good thief and an even better killer. Joy. Carol always took as many notes as she could during this time, trying to get all the important bits in her head, as many as possible and as fast as possible. She didn't really like it all that much, but she had the terrible feeling in her mind that she needed to know this stuff. The world was changing around her at a dizzying pace, and certainly not for the better; the three kingdoms, when not taking it in turns to try and exterminate the Red Scarves and everything about them, were gearing up for war. Hell, they had been gearing up for war for a good three months now. And while these...crackpots, Carol guessed, fought each other for glory or death, who would be looking after the ones on the streets? Who would be upholding the law? Who would keep negotiable trade routes open? Carol knew things were soon going to go downhill, with rampart crime and rioting on the streets, unseen to these warmongers, and she needed every last skill and advantage she could ever hope to get.  
  
Not that those skills mattered in scenarios like this. After the 2 hour lesson came lunch, itself one hour, before one hour's physical training and back to living life. Except Carol had no life to really return to. She was, after all, just another victim of the three kingdoms and their mad power struggles. Her own family was one of the many who was sent to fight in that idiotic civil war between Shang Mu and Shuigang. A lot of people died in that freakin' war. Not that it helped. Almost instantly after this little excursion was over, Mayor Zao was instead turning his greedy fingers towards Shang Tu, and its own power sources. Like that Kingdom Stone everyone talked about. The ultimate goal of the Red Scarves, according to their leader anyway, was to one day steal that thing. Not to use it, apparently, but so the other kingdoms couldn't. Warring kingdoms was bad enough, the last thing that was wanted or needed was a Kingdom with what was essentially the Hand of God.  
  
What all this meant for Carol, of course, was that she had no home to return to. The Red Scarves only pushed their lessons on them Monday to Friday; weekends were "private study" returning to their homes and practicing their new skills on their own people. But to Carol, this meant returning to the same old filthy mattress somewhere within Shuigang and waiting for the next lesson. No way she was able to steal anything from THESE people, after all. The Shuigang pedestrians thought they were clever and impressively intelligent, but in truth they were no less paranoid than the rest of 'em. Hell, some even managed to keep spears on their person, just in case of an attack. Even if those were often the first thing to be stolen. Carol didn't care. She couldn't steal from these people. She could only wait.  
  
Her stomach rumbled underneath her tunic. Great. Hungry with no food...again. Carol sighed. Two days to go with no food and no-one to steal from. Unless she really tried. And, all aside, it looked like she had to. She groaned, sitting up on the dirty mattress she was lying on, plans and rejections massing in her head; well it was almost night time, but she was sure this was when pedestrians got EXTRA cranky and aggressive. So...probably not. Carol continued processing a solution until a sweet and soft humming sound met her ears. In front of her, walking through the city, was a girl. A member of the Red Scarves, if her tunic and red accessories were any indication. She was some kind of dragon too, with light purple fur/skin/something, with two cute little horns poking out the top of her head. Two blue gems hung around the sides of her head while two tendrils hung out of her back and to around her back. She was smiling, holding a brown paper bag in her arm. To Carol's surprise, she had reached in and grabbed something from out of it; an apple. A Honeycrisp, specifically. Carol began to drool; she LOVED Honeycrisp apples, and this one just looked so...round and...succulent and...perfect! The dragon girl was about to take a quick bite of the apple, but she stopped. She had caught Carol's sounds of interest and was now turning her head to see who it was. She saw the green wildcat, clad in a very similar tunic to her, as well as the red headband and scarf. She looked on with confusion, while the wildcat simply looked away, embarrassed and blushing. The dragon girl looked at her, then down at the apple she was about to eat. She was only getting groceries for her own home, but...well, one less apple couldn't hurt, could it?  
  
Carol sighed, thinking she was being incredibly stupid and selfish. It was HER apple, dammit! Not Carol's. Even though she wanted it to be hers. Suddenly, a small red object popped up in front of her face. The Honeycrisp apple! Carol looked up incredulously. It was the dragon girl, her smile warm and radiant, holding the apple out for the wildcat to grab.  
  
"Hi there..." she began, "Here, take it. I've got plenty more where that came from..."  
  
"I..." Carol stuttered, "I don't know what to say...thank you..."  
  
Carol grabbed the apple, slowly and politely, and bit down on it. The juices rushed headlong into her mouth and she recoiled with the heavenly taste of it all. She was right; it was red and juicy and pretty much perfect. The dragon girl giggled at Carol's reaction, "Like it? Old friend of mine from school's got a business selling these, all the way in Shang Tu. Think her name was...Zyo Ling or something. She grows 'em herself."  
  
"It's incredible!" Carol said happily, "I...thank you, miss..."  
  
"Lilac," the dragon said, sitting by Carol on her mattress, "Sash Lilac."  
  
"Sash Lilac, huh?" Carol said, "That's a pretty name...what species are you?"  
  
"A dragon girl. And, uh...newest member of the Red Scarves. Master Spade told me you would be of great help to my studies."  
  
"Studies?"  
  
"Well..." Lilac scratched the back of her head, "As I said, I'm new here. Gotta learn the ropes. Gotta know what's up. How to steal and kill...I...don't really want to, though."  
  
"Yeah, I get ya..." Carol sighed, "It's not a nice experience is it, getting robbed...but you've gotta learn. Those kingdoms are probably minutes away from launching enough attacks to reduce a good portion of this land to a crater..."  
  
"Hmm..." Lilac said, "Yeah, you're probably right. Hey, uh...is this...is this your home?"  
  
Carol could sense the dragon girl's timidness in this, so she cut her some slack and answered with a sigh, "...Yes."  
  
"Here?" Lilac asked, "On this filthy mattress? With no covers or even a pillow?"  
  
"Yes..."  
  
"...You poor thing," Lilac said, sadly giving the shivering wildcat a warming hug, "You can't live like this. Tell you what, how about I let you sleep in my room at the HQ?"  
  
"No way!" Carol called out in amazement, "You have a room there? Only the best are said to get a room at the HQ!"  
  
"Well..." Lilac said, "Spade said I was pretty special, being a water dragon and all. He also said some girl had established the room in advance, just for me. So...yeah, I have a room there!"  
  
"That's so cool!" Carol said, hugging Lilac right back, "Thank you!"  
  
"You're welcome," Lilac said again, smiling, "I'm hoping one day, after passing my 'classes' at the HQ, I could move into Shang Tu territory. All the people there are snobs who think they can't be touched. Ripe for the picking for us Master Thieves, eh? I'm even thinking of setting up a treehouse there. Heh...come on. We best get some sleep back at the room."  
  
Lilac arose, then reached out her hand to Carol. She grabbed it and was hoisted to her feet for her troubles. Carol was blushing, close to tears from the happiness, "I...I really don't know what to say about this...I...thank you. For everything, Sash Lilac."  
  
"Just call me 'Lilac'," Lilac said, patting the wildcat's back, "Y'know something? I think this is going to be the start of something...wonderful..."  
  
=======  
Present Day  
=======  
  
"And THEN I said, 'Ooh, I think this is going to be the start of something wonderful'! It certainly was, wasn't it? Then she has the nerve to just abandon me! Let me get myself tortured to death by this lanky breadbasket! ARGH!"  
  
"Lilac, Sweety!" Sonar was saying, "Please, calm down!"  
  
It was the evening, on the cusp of night at this point. Lilac had led herself, Blade and the two hallucinations to the the base of operations for the Red Scarves. For something that would naturally be hidden, it still had quite the imposing look to its high walls and pointed steeple. Even the hallucinations were wondering just how Prince Dail had not noticed this before? Refuge in audacity, perhaps? Still, Lilac had managed to use Blade to cut her past the heavy iron doors and even now the pseudo-group was walking down a metallic corridor, boots clomping as they slowly approached the door to the courtyard. Franky had remained silent the entire trip, while Sonar had been trying to talk with Sonar in an attempt to keep her stable. But this wasn't working. Lilac's mood had taken a turn for the worse; she was getting cranky, twitchy, stressed out and prone to outbursts and rants. She was so far gone from the real Lilac that it was almost scary. Nowhere near the brink of insanity, perhaps, but just enough to say a definite change was taking place.  
  
"NO!" Lilac roared back, "That...that...that WILDCAT stabbed me in the back! Left me to die!"  
  
"Lilac, you don't mean that!" Sonar pleaded, "That's just your anger talking! Blade's influence! You've gotta remain calm and concentrate."  
  
"That hallucination's right," Blade said, "You're only getting stressed out with the knowledge you're gonna go crazy. But if you act like that then you ARE going to go crazy! Faster, too."  
  
"Oh what would you know?" Lilac growled, "You're just a possessed hunk of metal! A War God who hungers for blood!"  
  
"I know..." Blade sighed, "But I pride myself on having restrictions. Can't just go around killing everyone 'cause they called you mean names. I'm not THAT God of War."  
  
"You really don't think much of this, do you?"  
  
"Not really," Blade said, "I've been through this scenario countless times, after all. Ever feel like a burden to everyone you meet? As far as Master was concerned, everyone around him died."  
  
Lilac looked blank, "Well, I'm still here, aren't I?"  
  
"I never said the deaths were physical..."  
  
"Look, Lilly, the plan is obvious," Franky shrugged, "Just go in there, establish that mentally you don't have long left and then ask them for help. With the Red Scarves, we could take on the Dreadnought and save the world!"  
  
"The Dreadnought?" Lilac asked.  
  
"Brevon's ship, remember?" Franky said, "It's his base of operations. It crashed 'cause Torque was a man and shot him down. A ship that size with a ship the size of a shoebox? Don't say that ain't impressive."  
  
"Well, take out the energy supplies," Blade said, "And you can ground anything, if you're accurate enough. Anyway, just try to stick to the plan. Get in there, maybe punch the odd gaff who looks at you funny, get Carol back on our side and try to amass an army large enough to take on a battle cruiser the size of a city. Piece of cake."  
  
"Just DON'T kill anyone!" Sonar said.  
  
"And DON'T die!" Franky grinned.  
  
"Great..." Lilac growled, feigning a grin, "Thanks..."  
  
She walked off, leaving Sonar and Franky walking along by themselves, "Franky, I'm getting a bit worried. It's only been about seven hours and she's exhibiting symptoms of insanity. Well, at least the build up to it. Her temper's only been getting worse and worse!"  
  
"Hmm, I'm getting the feeling we won't stick around for long," Franky said, annoyed, "To be fair, getting electrocuted, then getting a gunshot in the stomach, then being told you'd go crazy, THEN having to walk across a world that actively wants you dead...yeah, I'd be a little unhinged too. Regardless, I don't really want to be replaced by...her. Look, we've gotta try our best to stop her doing anything insane. Like, say, she cuts off her best friend's hand."  
  
"Sounds pretty contrived," Sonar sighed, looking sassy, "Urgh, this is annoying. A medic who can't help..."  
  
"HEY!" Lilac called out, "You two figments get over here! I want you to see this!"  
  
"...We're screwed, aren't we?" Franky asked.  
  
Sonar said little, just nodding, before both ran at breakneck speeds to catch up with the damaged dragon girl. They stopped in front of another door, a giant metallic one at that, that seemed almost impossible to surpass.  
  
"This is it..." Lilac said, her voice calming and her grip on Blade tightening, "The final door to the Red Scarves base of operations. Ready?"  
  
"Do we have a choice?" Franky snarked.  
  
"...No," Lilac said bluntly, "I guess you don't. Blade, it's time to show that red-eyed warmonger how to save a planet!"  
  
Blade whispered, "If only we could save you."  
  
======  
Meanwhile  
======  
  
"Carol..." Milla whimpered, "I'm not too sure about this."  
  
"Why?" Carol asked, "It seems like the perfect plan. We gather the Red Scarves and attack his base head on. We don't really need Lilac or that Travelling guy. Plus we'll get to show Little Miss Heropants how it's done."  
  
"...Little Miss Heropants?" Spade asked, "Lilac?...Well, I suppose you could call her worse. A fitting nickname, nonetheless..."  
  
Milla was sighing, tussling and tugging at the small red tunic she had been forced into. The entire group within the courtyard had been shocked beyond senseless by War Master's video. Granted, most of them had calmed down knowing they didn't have a clue who this Brevon was, but they knew that he was a threat. Which made War Master, his killer, a bigger threat. They had spent countless hours getting everything together, preparing for this supposed final battle. All across the courtyard, various members of the Red Scarves were busy hauling around weapons, supplies, medical appliances, everything they had and everything they could hold. It was all going into a giant truck, no doubt pilfered from Mayor Zao after the attacks on Shang Mu. Spade was on a wooden platform in the middle of it all, looking over his troops. His face was still no different from before, and inside he was still busy thinking. This War Master sounded like just another hack out for attention, but is he was what that Traveller guy USED to be...well, this would be an interesting fight.  
  
Milla, on the other hand, was terrified. Carol had covered her eyes when War Master slit Brevon's throat, but it had done nothing to stop the screaming. The loud, grating, mechanical screeching mixed in with the sound of War Master roaring in victory and the sound of ripping flesh. Then, the sounds of gurgling and blotted out screaming, before finally ceasing with a thud. Milla's fear had reached new levels from that, the pained screaming far too much for her to bear. She wanted to run, to hide, to stay as far away from this War Master as possible. Carol could even tell she was crying a bit, if only from the outward reaction. But she didn't care. At this point, she couldn't. Brevon may have been someone Torque could've hyped up, since she never saw him in action. But here, she could see what War Master was perfectly willing to do, with no hesitation and a big old smile on his face. This time, action was justified. And action was what he would get.  
  
"It'll be fine," Carol said, "I know this looks dangerous, but...look, it'll be fine! He's just one guy with a buncha jokers. We're a whole army of trained ninjas!"  
  
"But did I REALLY have to join?" Milla sighed.  
  
"Well, it helps with the paperwork," Carol sighed happily, "Besides, you get a few neat extras, like high quality food, good life skills and free pancakes on Sundays! Look, we'll get outta this, don't worry about a thing."  
  
"But what about Lilac?" Milla said, almost disgusted, "You just abandoned her to her fate! Don't you feel ANYTHING about it?"  
  
"Well..." Carol sighed, "I do feel a LITTLE bad for leaving her to face Brevon alone. But seeing how easy he went out, I doubt Lilac had any trouble..."  
  
Milla covered her ears in instinct. Surely such a phrase would invite something bad to happen, as it had countless times before. She was indeed right, her ears protected from the ear-splitting metallic shriek that filled the room soon after. She slowly watched as the other members in the courtyard were reeling from the shock, the two large metal doors in front of them slowly falling off their hinges with green sparks emitting from every edge. Finally, both blew and fell to the floor, crushing some supplies in the process. The dust that gathered from the impact cleared and, there, all alone in the middle of the doorway, was Lilac. Carol's once proud expression had dropped like a stone the moment she saw her, her hands covering her whimpering mouth. Lilac was ravaged, a broken dragons in barely-there clothes. Her arms and left leg were covered in bandages, some still fresh but others stained red with blood. Her clothing was ripped diagonally across the chest, exposing parts of her undershirt, while her gloves had lost their fingers and showed her bare digits for all to see. But the worst was just how damaged she was; her fur was a mess, wild and a charred grey that smelled of smoke, her eyes reddened and twitching, her lips crumbled and bleeding, her horns cracked and blackened. And there were no tendrils that Milla had happily said were like rope in the past, only replaced by more crimson stains and perhaps some flashes of bone in there as well. Finally came her expression; an enraged, tear-ridden, teeth-grinding, death-doling snarl.  
  
"Lo, peasants!" Franky cried out, arms out stretched, "We have arrived to kick ass and chew bubblegum! And I'm all outta-"  
  
"Franky, it's 2015!" Sonar said quickly, "Everyone's sick of that! Look, no-one can see us, so all we can do is make sure Lilac doesn't kill anyone. At least, not yet. Got it?"  
  
"Got it."  
  
"CAROOOOOOOOOOOOOL!" Lilac screamed at the top of her lungs, "YOU'RE A DEAD CAT!"  
  
Carol had nothing to say, only the deep whimpering that came when every ounce of your strength slowly drained away to nothing. She had thought in the past going to the Red Scarves for help and leaving Lilac to her own mistakes would be the best course of action. But now here she was. An enraged, shattered shell of her former self. She stomped forward, slowly crunching through the courtyard,  glaring at anyone who looked at her with fear on their faces. She clambered up to the wooden platform and continued her advance. Carol gulped; Lilac was furious and clearly directing her anger towards her.  
  
"Hey, Lil..." she said quickly, "I see you've got a new look. It's uh...it-"  
  
"SHUT UP!" Lilac screamed, slapping the wildcat across the face, "I've had enough of your excuses!"  
  
"Is..." Carol said quickly, "Is something the matter?"  
  
"...Something the matter?!" Lilac shook the wildcat like a doll, "LOOK AT ME! All my grace and beauty, all gone! I'm a shambling wreck with burn marks, doomed to fall victim to the bane of insanity! And it's ALL YOUR FAULT!"  
  
"Lilac, don't do anything!" Milla cried out, reaching towards her, but was stopped by Spade.  
  
"Keep outta the way, kid!" He said, "This is going to get to ugly."  
  
"My fault?" Carol asked, "How did..." she stopped, her face falling, "Oh no...it's because I left you to take on Brevon alone, isn't it? He proved to be a bit tougher than I wagered, right?"  
  
"Yeah, he was!" Lilac said, grinning like a madwoman, "He freakin' was! Attacked me with a robot, nearly burned me to death with lava! Then he cut off my tendrils, tied me to a pole, electrocuted me to within an inch of my life, and then decided to let some other bastard finish the job! All with a smile on his face!"  
  
"But Brevon's dead!" Carol cried out, "War Master slit his throat on national TV!"  
  
"You think I didn't SEE that?" Lilac growled, her face half-crazed, "I saw it all! In high def! You don't think that screwed with me a little, did it!? All that pain, the searing agony of electricity running through every parta your body, the screaming! Perhaps that's driven me just the little bit..."  
  
"Crazy?"  
  
"EXACTLY!" Lilac screeched, letting go of the wildcat and arching low, "And if that wasn't enough, I got shot! This...War Master shot me in the stomach! Do you have ANY idea, ANY AT GODDAMN ALL, how much that hurts?"  
  
"Lilac dear!" Sonar grabbed Lilac's arm and attempted to pull her back, "Don't do this! You'll regret this for the rest of your life!"  
  
"Go AWAY!" Lilac screamed, throwing the hedgehog over her shoulder, "I'm monologuing here! Gunshot wounds hurt like the deepest pits of damnation! And the only way to heal 'em on this planet? THIS!"  
  
Lilac punctuated this by holding up her left arm. In it, clenched within her fist, was the Blade of Hysteria itself. Carol's face fell even lower at the sight of such a weapon, "Oh..."  
  
"Look kid, I'm sorry..." Blade said, "I'm trying all I can to prevent this!"  
  
"SHUT IT!" Lilac barked, "This has gone on too long. You left me behind to face Brevon all alone. You left me to die! And now, I'm here to repay you."  
  
"Lilac...please..." Carol pleaded, "I didn't know Brevon would do this to you...I'm sorry!"  
  
"That's not enough..." Lilac growled, "Not anymore."  
  
"Oh for FUCK'S sake!" came another voice. Everyone stopped and turned to the doorframe Lilac had sliced her way through. Within it was Clone Master, looking very angry, "Come on! I'm the one who busts down the doors around here! Does anyone knock in this universe?!"  
  
"YOU!" Lilac growled.  
  
"The one and only," Clone Master sighed, resuming his grinning nature.  
  
"You have quite the nerve to come here!" Spade growled, "Invade my domain, enslave my services, then betray me for all the power you could ever want! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't sic my entire group upon you?"  
  
"Hmm. This'll do..." came another voice. Spade turned his head to see Clone Master was gone. Instead, to his side, Clone Master had dashed and grabbed Milla, holding Brevon's bleeding blade to her throat, "Back off! Or the superdog gets it! And then some..."  
  
"What're you even here for?" Lilac growled, "You've caused quite enough chaos already."  
  
"I'm here for the pancakes," Clone Master snarked, "Nah, I'm just here for a little...cultivation. Carol ain't your friend anymore, is she? I mean she left you to die, by MY hands. Now that's enough motivation to...you know."  
  
"Don't listen to him!" Milla pleaded, "He's trying to turn you against everyone!"  
  
"Not now, kid..." War Master said, bringing the dagger closer to her throat, "I'm working. Now, Lilac, you just have to remember all of the things that'll happen because of this. No Kingdom Stone, no credibility, no hope. All the kingdoms are gearing up for war. And this time it won't be some piddly civil war."  
  
"How would you know about that?" Carol asked.  
  
"Oh you poor deluded Carol..." Clone Master cackled, "I took part in that war! Well, not ME, per-se. War Master. The REAL one. Said his greatest kill was these two Basset hounds."  
  
"Milla's parents?" Carol asked.  
  
"No..." Milla sobbed.  
  
"Shh..." Clone Master patted the hound's hair, "It's okay, Milly. It's war! It happens. But get this; I wouldn't have got involved if the war never happened. If those moronic rulers you've fought for got along. I probably would never have got the message while multiverse travelling. Think about it, Lil. All this death and destruction. All in the space of a days. The entire planet at war. And this time it wasn't just them. It was Carol too."  
  
"What?" Lilac asked.  
  
"Carol abandoned you, didn't she?" Clone Master explained, "Left you to be tortured, mutilated, driven to the brink of insanity. All so she could go back to those she hated and get some free shelter."  
  
"No..."  
  
"Abandoned her sense of morality! Went back to those who would rather rob you than look at you!"  
  
"No!"  
  
"It's like, 'Oh it's alright, don't worry. I'll just sit here with an iced tea while my best friend gets her limbs cut off and the world crumbles around me'. You ain't no hero, and War Lilac isn't even needed! The world's gonna wipe itself out. And it's all because of her!"  
  
"NOOOOO!" Lilac screamed, swinging the Blade with enough force to slice right through the wooden floor. Carol had dodged just in time, and she had the horrible feeling Lilac was too far gone for reasoning. Indeed, she slowly raised her head, her eyelid heavy but slowly opening with slight force. Carol gasped; her eye, the one remaining eye, had faded. No longer was it a bloodshot pinkish colour, it was now black. With a single, small, red dot of a pupil.  
  
"Yes..." Clone Master growled, holding the frightened dog tighter, "Give in to the madness! That Blade will give you all the power you could ever want! But at a price..."  
  
"GET..." Lilac growled, "GET OUTTA MY HEAD!"  
  
"Don't fight it!" War Master said again, "This is the transitional period, after all. All Warmongers get racked with anger at this stage. So you've gotta...let it out. And I know the perfect punching bag..."  
  
Carol began to panic, "Lilac, you don't need to do this!"  
  
"Why not? You'll just be another Casual Tea! Damn you! You've ruined EVERYTHING!" Lilac screeched, lunging forward with the Blade. She missed Carol by mere inches, who yelped and leaped backwards. She didn't want to, but she knew she had to fight her now.   
  
She reached into her back pocket and brought out her own weapon of choice; nunchucks. She loved the little things, ever since she first used them during her early years at the HQ. Swinging them around, smacking everything around her...damn, it made her feel almost invincible. Perhaps she was; she was never hurt while using them. Now it was time to put it to the test. Lilac swung with the Blade again, just missing Carol's arm, before rearing up and throwing a right punch in Carol's general direction. This did not hit either, throwing Lilac off balance and leaving her open. Carol took the opportunity and kicked Lilac in the face, sending her reeling back and grabbing her face. She regained her balance, her face not changing in the slightest, before dashing forward and swinging rapidly with the Blade in hand. Clearly she had no idea how to use the thing, but that wasn't going to get in her way. She swung vertically, once again just missing Carol's arm, before dashing forward and slicing rapidly at her chest. This did hit and Carol jumped back in pain to which Lilac followed up with a kick to the chest. Carol was flung back from the force, collapsing onto the ground and really close to the edge of the platform. Everyone could only watch the fight unfold; no-one dared to get anywhere near the fighters at this point. It was far too dangerous.  
  
Carol attempted to keep up with Lilac's assault, but she couldn't. Lilac was unskilled, but she was fast and incredibly strong. It would be only so long before Lilac found a weakness and managed to strike her old friend down. And, at last, she found a way. She roared and swung Blade upwards, finally catching Carol by the wrist. She screamed and held onto her wrist as the pain increased. Slowly, it dawned on her something was wrong, missing. And there, bouncing across the wooden platform, was Carol's left hand. Severed, twitching, still clasping the nunchucks. Carol felt faint and could only stare at her former friend who had just performed the deed, shivering.  
  
"L-Lilac..." Carol whimpered, "What...what have you done?"  
  
"I..." Lilac groaned, her voice wavering, "I..." her face began to fall, "I don't know..." she stared at her own hands, now covered in blood, "I...what've...what've I...done?"  
  
She began to look at the others, too scared to act, fear across her own face. She began to breath heavily, staring at her hands and at Carol's own singular. Carol noticed that her eyes had thankfully reverted, going back to the old bloodshot eye from before. Not that it helped much, but oh well. Lilac was still breathing heavily, wrestling with her own thoughts, clutching her head. Carol, despite all that had happened, still felt sorry for the dragon girl. She didn't know this was going to happen, after all. She tried approaching Lilac, slowly and cautiously, ignoring the searing pain from what used to be her hand.  
  
"Lilly..." Carol said quietly, "I'm sorry. I didn't know all of this would happen. I would've gone with you if I did. I...Lilac?"  
  
"Get away from me!" Lilac squealed, pushing Carol away and staring at her, "I'm...I'm a monster..."  
  
She turned and ran, sprinting in a jumbled manner out of the doors, gibbering all the way. Carol was silent, as were the others.  
  
"Well..." Spade said at last, "That happened. Now then, War Master! Unhand the child or..."  
  
"...Where is he?"  
  
"Dammit!" came another cry. Everyone heard the voice and began to stare at the rooftop to see someone standing on top of it. Clone Master had warped, again, and was holding a struggling Milla under his arm. He was visibly annoyed, "There's still a bit of the old Lilac in there, somewhere. Oh well. A little more cultivation should set the Warmonger free! Wherever she wants her to or not!"  
  
"Darn it!" Carol called out, "How do you keep jumping around like that?"  
  
"Short-Range Portal creation, Carol-girl!" Clone Master grinned, "Basic power they teach to ALL MasterSelves at some point."  
  
"Disgraceful creature!" Neige called out too, "You swan around as if you're a god!"  
  
"What, did the red eyes not tip you off?" Clone Master cackled, his voice switching to a tone far more demonic, " **I AM GOD!**  Now, if you excuse me, I've got a lot to do. Remember; the Dreadnought rises at 5 o'clock! Smack bang in the middle of the Battle Glacier! Don't be late!"  
  
"What're you gonna do to me?" Milla whined, still struggling with all her might, "Kill me?"  
  
"Kill you?" Clone Master asked, "No, Basset. I won't kill you. Chaos, I ain't THAT sick. But I've still got plans for you..."  
  
Clone Master cackled evilly, before suddenly dashing backwards off of the roof. There was a quick zapping sound, which ceased just as it had started up. Clearly the guy had opened a portal below him, having fallen into it after dashing off the roof. Clever. The Red Scarves below remained silent, with a select few murmuring across themselves.  
  
"Well, he's gone..." Spade sighed, "I can't believe I was being led by the nose by that hack. Looks like we'll have to double our efforts. Someone get some a tourniquet for Carol's...stump. And resume all actions at twice speed!"  
  
"Why?" Neige asked.  
  
"If I can't get to my father's killer," Spade grumbled, "I'll go for the guy who killed him. It's all I have. Any questions?" a shrug from Carol, already receiving treatment for her removed hand, "Thought so. Right! All members of the Red Scarves, prepare for combat! We mobilize by midnight!"  
  
=========  
Meanwhile   
=========  
  
"Dammit, I can't keep him stable!"  
  
"Don't worry Medi-Chick. Give me the defibur...the defibul...the shock pads."  
  
"The defibrillator? Mr Freakly, defibrillation can't be used to restart a beating heart!"  
  
"Medi-Chick, this is a world where half-zetis and anthro hedgehogs can wear clothes and practice medicine using power derived from glowing crystals. I'm pretty sure the laws of reality aren't strictly enforced in such scenarios."  
  
"...Can't argue with that logic. Fine, here you go."  
  
"Thank you, Sony."  
  
"Sonar."  
  
"Whatever. CLEAR!"  
  
There was a sudden sound of bursting electricity and Traveller came back to his senses. He wrenched forwards, gasping for breath, before he finally flopped back to whatever he was laying on. He felt empty, hollow, like something was missing from him. He slowly turned his head, his eyes still focusing on the figures in front of him. Some kind of female hedgehog was the first to meet his view, albeit quite out of focus.  
  
"He's stable!" she was saying, "It worked!"  
  
"It...it did?" Traveller asked weakly, "Did I die?"  
  
"Yes..." the hedgehog sighed, "Somehow, we've managed to revive you."  
  
"Let's just say...magic," the other figure said, "Loads of magic."  
  
Traveller's eyes focused at last, and the two before him were very familiar indeed. Sonar and Franky, to be exact! Only now there were...differences to them. Sonar was almost unchanged, if not for her change of attire; her blue bodysuit from before had long been replaced with a green jacket with nothing underneath, as well as gym pants and a blue ascot tied loosely around her neck. She had also fallen into the while 'Boom Bandages' craze that was sweeping her own world, and wore copious amounts of sports tape around her arms and hands. Perhaps not the best course of attire for a medic, but at least it kept her in fashion. Franky was next to her, and he too had only a few differences, mainly an ill-fitting suit and a few more scars across his chest.  
  
"Welcome back!" Sonar said happily, "Genuinely thought you weren't gonna make it!"  
  
"Sonar..." Traveller wheezed, "Are...are you the real one this time?"  
  
"Real?" Sonar asked, "You've been hallucinating me?"  
  
Traveller shrugged sheepishly.  
  
"Oh well. Nice to know you think highly of me."  
  
Traveller turned his head again, "Franky..."  
  
Franky's reply was cold, "Traveller."  
  
"Nice to, uh...see you again?"  
  
"Don't think so. Last time I saw you, you pushed my entire species to extinction," Franky growled again.  
  
"Yeah, uh..." Traveller sighed, "Sorry about that. Wasn't thinking. Look, I questions; where am I, how did I get here and how did you find me?"  
  
"Simple, really," Sonar explained, "Someone told us about it. Told us that you and some alien dude would end up stranded in the Ice Caps. All we had to do was find you and nurse you back to health."  
  
"AND fight off that damn snake creature," Franky said almost gleefully, wiping the blood off his hands, "Guy took a beating and no mistake. I suggested stuffing his tail down his throat, but Amelia wanted us to just detain him. He's been sent to the No-Zone Prison. Ain't no way he's getting outta there, not after that green hedgehog's breakout."  
  
"But...didn't I kill him?" Traveller asked. Franky's cold grin extended into a genuine one.  
  
"Exactly..."  
  
"Where's...where's Torque?" Traveller asked again.  
  
"Torque?" Sonar looked blank for a bit, before she jumped, "Oh! The green alien! We got him too. He wasn't anywhere near as wounded as you were, so we took him back and gave him...minor treatments. He's talking with Amelia right now."  
  
"And...final question..." Traveller gasped, "Who's Amelia?"  
  
His question was answered shortly after. There was a sound of a door creaking open, followed by footsteps and voices. One of clearly Torque's, but the other was shrouded in mystery. But to Traveller, it sounded...almost familiar.  
  
"A Chronomancer, huh?" Torque was asking with interest, "I've never heard of them. Nor have I seen them on the Coalition's databases."  
  
"Of course you won't," the other voice was saying, "I'm the first of a new breed. Ever heard of Chronos Energy? No? Well it's what powers the laws of time. Tap into it yourself and the laws of time are yours to control. I haven't quite got the hang of it, though."  
  
"Fascinating..." Torque said, "Perhaps we should perform a few studies on your abilities?"  
  
"Thanks, but no thanks. The less people know about me, the better. I've got enough problems without the entire multiverse trying to...exploit my powers."  
  
"Okay. I will respect your wishes."  
  
"Thank you..." the voice sighed, before she was finally in Traveller's sight. She was a hedgehog, strawberry blond fur, quills turned up into a split ponytail. Her skin was pale and her eyes an electric blue. She wore a white shirt with a sleeveless jacket over it which reached to her tights, splitting around her stomach so her belt buckle was visible. Her trousers were black, ending in brown shoes with multiple straps upon them. She wore a choker, red in colour, alongside black gloves that also had red bracelets attached to them. She looked quite solemn, almost drained, with a thousand-yard stare and trembling limbs. Nevertheless, she began to stare at Traveller coldly, yet with a since of familiarity, "Hello, Master."  
  
"Traveller..." Traveller grumbled, "It's Traveller now."  
  
"Really? I never got it," the figure grumbled back, "All members of your scumbag race seem to be the same. But they have...good memory. Do you recognize me?"  
  
"...No," Traveller said, "I've never seen you before in my life."  
  
"No? Well here's a hint..." the figure got nice and close, "Remember Delago's last target?"  
  
"...Wha..." Traveller was struck with confusion, "But...no! It can't be you!"  
  
"It is. It SO is..."  
  
"She's the girl from the Knight Island Incident, remember?" Torque said plainly, "You the girl you tried to save."  
  
"I left you to rot on that island..." Traveller gasped.  
  
"You did," the figure said coldly, "Then someone came along and pumped me full of that Chronos Energy you used to be quite interested in. Restored me. Brought me back to life, gave me powerful abilities! Perhaps the name is familiar...Amy Rose..."  
  
"No..." Traveller whined.  
  
"Amelia Rosalina..." Amelia smiled, "Time Travel Extraordinaire, at your service. And I'm here to fix the things you've screwed up."  
  
"What're you talking about?" Franky asked, "What things?"  
  
"Lilac..." Sonar looked blank again, "Never heard of her."  
  
"Odd," Franky shrugged, "I have. Some tales and legends of this water dragon going insane and reducing her world to dust...right?"  
  
"Yeah," Amelia grumbled.  
  
"I knew it!" Torque called out, "I remember now! This...Warmonger creature put Traveller's Blade in Lilac's hand. Said it'd drive her insane!"  
  
"...Shit!" Traveller tried to get up, "I've gotta go!"  
  
Traveller suddenly cried out in pain and collapsed to the floor. Sonar got him back on the bed, "You can't! You're hurt!"  
  
"Sorta," Amelia said, "All part of Chronological Reversion. Reverting a person's body to a previous point to alleviate wounds. No more stomach stab wound. But the PAIN can sometimes be a little...out of sync."  
  
"Right," Sonar said, "So I and Franky'll stay here to keep you stable."  
  
"But..." Traveller gasped, "But Lilac!"  
  
"You've ruined enough of her mind as is," Amelia growled, "You've pushed her to the brink of insanity, if only by existing. I'm taking these reigns now. Just rest, and think about it all. Come on, Torque."  
  
Amelia turned to walk out of the room, Torque stepping out of the room alongside her. The door slammed shut behind them, and Traveller lay his head back down, closing his eyes.  
  
"Chaos..." Traveller sighed, "What've I done?"  
  
"It's okay, man..." Franky said, still having a scowl across his face, but a warmer tone, "...You tried."


	13. The Blade of Hysteria

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DeviantART Link: https://masterperrymartin.deviantart.com/art/Freedom-Dies-With-ME-CHAPTER-12-565977303

"Another cough? Dammit, not now!"  
  
Clone Master's wick was getting shorter, slowly but surely, at every possible opportunity. Freaking clones, why did they have to degrade Chaos knows how many times faster than normal people? It was bad enough when it happened to anyone but it was worse if the clone was a MasterSelf.. Which he was, obviously. His outward appearance was still alright, due in part to that small nap in the frozen tundras of Exol 7 preserving him somewhat. But inside, he was ravaged. He had lost count of how many times an organ of his had failed. A little Chaos Energy (or substitute) kept him going for a few months more, but nothing could help him now. Every part of his insides were failing, and at a pretty hasty pace as well. At best, he had a good week left yet before he'd get so weak he couldn't keep himself alive. But that only made him more determined to find someone to replace him. SOMEONE needed to carry on his Carnival of Carnage, after all. And maybe, just maybe, this new one would offer him a way out of this hellhole.  
  
Not that he had the time to focus on this now. He was focusing his powers on something a tad more...insidious. He was within the gigantic steel bowels of the Dreadnought, Brevon's old ship that was perfectly capable to reducing an entire planet to ash and dust. A wonderful base for his rampages, had he the time. However, he knew he didn't; some new force was trying to break his way into the ship. Nay, into the universe itself. He, having donned some heavy gloves, was now casting his hands towards what could only be described as a rip in space and time, green beams roaring out of his fingers and slowly filling in the crack.  
  
"YOU..." he was grunting, "SHALL NOT PASS. I've come too far for some outward hero to ruin it all!"  
  
"You have to!" came the voice, "Do you have no idea about what you could be doing? Lilac can't handle the power you've given her! If you let her go crazy, this world be nothing a large crater in the middle of space!"  
  
"That's the beauty of it, Amelia..." Clone Master grunted, "You should know. A girl dying, then being brought back to life, gaining all the energy she ever could want in the process! Just a shame it drives her-" he screamed in pain and weariness, before regaining his composure, "...A shame it drives her crazy."  
  
"You did not create me!" Amelia roared, "You know full well that isn't the case! It was-"  
  
"Now, now, Amelia, hasten your tongue..." Clone Master cackled, "We need someone like War Lilac. Warmongers are just the cream of the crop when it comes to destruction. The ultimate mercenary!"  
  
"Oh yeah, and remember the last time a Warmonger was given free reign? You destroyed an entire universe!"  
  
"Meh, it was the Archie universe. No-one's going to miss it," Clone Master shrugged.  
  
"That's beside the point!" Amelia cried out, "So what if I went a bit nutty when I first got my powers? Just because it happened to one person doesn't mean it should happen to another!"  
  
"Why do you even care? Why get involved?" Clone Master retorted, "It's all Traveller's fault! He could've just turned and walked at any time."  
  
"But he didn't!" Amelia said, "So I've got to fix it! Let me in!"  
  
"Not a cha-ARGH!" Clone Master buckled over in pain, one arm falling loose. The attack on this rift was certainly doing his steadily weakening body no favours, only speeding up the feeling of internal rotting from the inside out. Still, he remained defiant, keeping his left arm focused on keeping the rift. There was a sudden crashing sound as the door behind him flung open. It was Prince Dail, in the doorframe and looking panicked.  
  
"Sir!" he was calling out, "We have problems!"  
  
"You're damn right!" Clone Master groaned, "Dail! You've gotta help me!"  
  
Dail rushed forward in shock, "How? What's even going on?"  
  
"I'll explain later!" Clone Master grunted, "There's a syringe in the back pocket of my bandoleer! Grab it and inject into my back!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"JUST DO IT!" Clone Master screamed. Dail did as told, digging into the back pocket and fishing out a syringe that glowed an eerie green. The Prince raised the syringe high and slipped it into Clone Master's back, pushing the plunger down as carefully as possible. Clone Master jerked back, shrieking with power, before raising both hands again. A large green blast of energy shot out of his hands and screamed towards the rip, slamming with full force into it. The rip exploded with energy, creating a shriek across the room, before finally closing. Clone Master sighed, collapsing to the floor, before slowly getting his knees, "Thank...thank you, Prince Dail."  
  
"Are you okay, sir?" Dail asked, "You look a bit...pale."  
  
"Advanced Clone Degradation..." Clone Master coughed violently, some dark blood splashing onto the floor, "Sealing that rift damn near killed me! But it had to be done. We've got enough lunatics and vigilantes running around this world as it is! That syringe full of Chaos Energy was just enough to seal the deal...and the rift. How's the dog?"  
  
"She's in pain..." Dail sighed, "The forced use of Brevon's machinery means that she pretty much has to be. But...it's holding."  
  
"Good..." Clone Master sighed, "I didn't want to do it, but there's no alternative. Your old employer, Brevon, probably would've mutated her into some hideous creature. What a disgusting and disgraceful thought. Anyway, what's the status of the other two kingdoms?"  
  
"It is official, sir," Dail said, "It's war. The citywide broadcasts have been played."  
  
"As planned..." Clone Master grinned, flopping into the chair within the room, "Show them."  
  
The first screen in above the doorway lit up to a blue background. And indeed, there on the screen was the Majister himself. Clone Master grumbled; the guy was so hard to swindle at the time, being all honourable and crap, so he had the feeling this would be a short message.  
  
"Ladies and Gentlemen of Shang Tu..." he began, "I am afraid to say that all conflicts between our great cities have finally become impossible to not act upon. It is war against Shang Mu. All soldiers in the palace and in the army, do your best to prepare. The battle starts at 4.30PM, in the Battle Glacier. Be ready."  
  
The screen cut out again, only now it was showing Mayor Zao on a red background. Clone Master began to grin at this. After all, Mayor Zao was much easier to manipulate that anyone else, apart from maybe the Prince himself. All he had to do was tell him that he could get him some more power and he almost instantly said yes.  
  
"Citizens of Shang Mu!" the little man barked, "It is WAR with those filthy traitors from Shang Tu! They have tried multiple times to usurp our righteous power, but now the die has cast and it is time to fight back! All soldiers and guards! Battle Glacier at the half past the fourth hour! Be prepared!"  
  
The screen went blank again, leaving Clone Master and Prince Dail alone in the room itself. The former sighed, "This is it, Dail. Everything's set. How're the power levels of the Dreadnought?"  
  
"We have just enough to get us airborne...but that's it. If we take off now, we'll rise into the air, and then crash."  
  
"That'll do..." Clone Master grinned, slowly getting out of his chair and walking towards the doorframe, "Dail, prepare all the thrusters. This is gonna be insane."  
  
Dail nodded and Clone Master belted out a cackle, leading to the duo walking out of the room. After all, they had a lot to prepare. Little did they know that, even with Clone Master's power boost, a small trace of the rip still remained, slowly fading but still existing. Two voices slowly echoed out of the rip;  
  
"Dammit! Clone Master's sealed us out! We can't get to Lilac now!"  
  
"Well, can't we just go back to the beginning and stop Traveller from ever coming here?"  
  
"Because I've already done that, Torque. It's No-Zone Rule #443: You can only meddle with a timeline if it is your destiny to do so. Any attempt otherwise results in, uh...strict force."  
  
"Darn. Probably should've expected that, really. Otherwise you'd get people continuously changing events for their own gain."  
  
"Indeed. Look, we've gotta get to Lilac! I...wait a second, I've got it! We can still contact her! Well, someone. Do you know any of Lilac's friends?"  
  
"Well, there's Carol. Clone Master said she went to rejoin those Red Scarves. My ship's database stated it was somewhere near the Shuigang Kingdom, just outside the Battle Glacier."  
  
"Great! Then we might be able to get to Lilac after all!"  
  
"Poor Lilac. I only hope she's okay..."  
  
=========  
Meanwhile  
=========  
  
 _'Monster!'  
  
'Foul, violent creature!'  
  
'Almost naught more than a murderer!'_  
  
Lilac kept running. It didn't matter anymore that her head felt like it was ablaze and every voice in her head was screaming in rage, she had to keep running. Where to, she didn't even know, but she had no more words to scream back, no more tears to shed. She just had to keep running. She didn't even know where she was anymore, just running somewhere along the fields of the planet, all the while the voices screaming in her head. She was stumbling, pained, footsore, hungry and thirsty. Clearly on the end of her tether, if she even had any left to lose. Finally, her fatigue got to her and she collapsed. She lay there, her breathing heavy, her eyes bloodshot and sore. She was weary, but angry. This wasn't her! A snivelling, terrified little dragon that allowed this madness to consume her! She was Sash Lilac, dammit! Hero of Avalice...right?  
  
"Lilac, get up!" Blade was calling out, "We've gotta move!"  
  
"What's..." Lilac panted, the voices in her head slowly fading, "What's the use? Why bother trying to change what will always happen?"  
  
"That is true," Blade sighed, "But surely we can...you know, do something before you go crazy. Like subdue Clone Master? I mean, he's dying so..."  
  
Lilac looked bitter, "Oh, that's a good one. Just lock up the universe-killing maniac. That'll go well."  
  
"Well...he's a bit beneath that," Blade explained, "He's a clone, after all. Clones are never perfect."  
  
"So..." Lilac sighed, "This guy...who kills many, bests someone like Brevon in a one-on-one fight, can control an entire army without issue...is still weaker than the original?!"  
  
"Not exactly," Blade said again, "I mean, he DOES lack a few powers, but the changes are more...mental. The real War Master is far, FAR worse. If anything, you could thank your lucky stars he's so...jokerish. The real War Master was...he was cold, calculative. Unfeeling. He could stab you in the chest and slowly bleed you out, all with the same old scowl on his face. That was the man who reduced an entire universe to ash and dust. The man who killed Milla's parents in that idiotic Civil War. You know what the clone War Master did to Brevon, right?"  
  
"Yeah...he slit his throat, made him bleed out."  
  
"A quick, clean death. For the actual War Master? That would be rare. Because...well, let's just say the true War Master doesn't share the same aversion to torture that the clone does."  
  
"Great..." Lilac sighed, but the sigh cut off; her mind was racing furiously, the voices incoherently screaming within, thinking of almost everything. Lilac's expression dropped, until only a single thought could work its way past her lips, "Wait...if I'm going to become this War Lilac you keep speaking of...which version am I going to be?"  
  
"Well..." came a sickeningly deranged voice from off in the distance, "How about you find out for yourself? Look upon me, peasant, and revel in my glory!"  
  
Lilac's breath cut out this time. That voice...it was her own! She scrambled to her feet, grabbing Blade and getting into an action pose, ready for whatever was lurking in the darkness. There was a soft crunch that clashed against the howling winds as the figure slowly stumbled out of the shadows. What Lilac saw was almost enough to cause her to drop Blade in shock. For what was standing in front of Lilac was Lilac herself, a sick caricature of her that seemed to lose another ounce of sanity with every step. She was damaged, broken, almost diseased, with dirty dark purple scales and bleached lavender skin that held scars, blood stains and blisters. Her clothes, while nowhere the levels of Lilac's own scraps of cloth, had been damaged and hastily repaired, with parts of a black jacket stitched into the missing gaps. Her face was awash with blood, tears and other unknown liquids, her teeth a row of spikes and her eyes a dark red blot in a blackened void. She too wielded the Blade of Hysteria, now warped into something far more demonic with red, lava-like cracks across its surface. Lilac stepped back in fear.  
  
"No..." she cried out, "It can't be!"  
  
"Urgh..." the creature sighed, "Can anyone believe ANYTHING around these parts? Why've you gotta be so...dramatic? Oh yeah; it's more fun that way!"  
  
"And look," Blade snarked, "She's even got another me! Does it talk?"  
  
" _OH YES..._ " the duplicate Blade spoke in a echoing, almost mechanical voice, " _IT EVEN LIFTS, TOO..._ "  
  
Blade faked a sniffing sound, "Figures."  
  
"So..." Lilac asked, "Are you me? I mean, will you be me?"  
  
"Yes..." the creature grinned, "And I will be. Given time. For I am the part of you that wants to breath. To hold someone like Spade down and force the Blade through his chest. I am what will reduce this planet to a mere collection of rocks floating around in space. For I am War Lilac!"  
  
"War Lilac..." Lilac gasped, "Just like War Master said!" her face of fear slowly turned to anger, however, "Get lost! I'm not weak willed! I'm the hero of this story! I won't just sit around and let you ruin everything!"  
  
Lilac turned to run, but she only got a few good metres before the screaming in her head returned, shrieking and screaming various random threats. Lilac was floored, skidding across the grass until she finally stopped. She got to her knees, groaning and yelling, clutching at the sides of her head in pain. She looked up, groaning, to see War Lilac was now directly in front of her.  
  
"Yeah, uh..." War Lilac growled threateningly, "I'm afraid it won't be that simple. You see, I've been waiting to get outta your skull for quite some time. Ever since our time together at the Temple, in fact. The Blade has done its fair share and given me a PUSH...but alas, you're fighting with everything you have to stay in control. And I'm done waiting."  
  
"You're just in my head! But you're not alone in there!" Lilac threatened.  
  
"What, Franky-boy and Medi-Chick?" War Lilac taunted, "Where are they now, then?" She paused, giving Lilac a moment to look around; neither was in sight, "You see? They abandoned you long ago. You became a lost cause, they couldn't help you anymore. But I can. I can make you faster, stronger, give you the ability to rival GODS! All you have to do is let me in."  
  
"If you won't get out..." Lilac growled, getting to her feet, "Then I'll force you to!"  
  
Lilac rushed forward, swinging wildly with Blade. War Lilac blocked, jumping back and swinging with full force, striking Lilac in the shoulder. She yelled out and jumped back, clutching at her arm. Only when she moved her hand away, no blood was splattered across it. There was no gash across her, just a sharp pain in her head once more.  
  
"Argh..." Lilac mumbled, disorientated, "How did you-"  
  
"I'm in your head, dummy!" War Lilac growled, "I can't make you bleed."  
  
" _SO WE HAVE TO FIND ANOTHER WAY..._ " Demon!Blade growled, " _EACH STRIKE WE MAKE UPON YOU WILL WEAKEN YOUR MIND, IF NOT YOUR BODY. EITHER RELENT AND ALLOW US TO ENTER, OR STRIKE US DOWN AND PROVE YOU ARE A KILLER._ "  
  
"But you're just in my head!" Lilac growled back, "You're not there!"  
  
" _THAT IS WHAT YOU THINK. BUT YOU LACK FOCUS. IF YOU HAD IT, YOU WOULD KNOW.._ "  
  
"That the real horrors are ALL inside your head!" War Lilac screamed, bounding towards Lilac and swinging her own blade towards her. Lilac had no time to dodge, instead blocking with her own Blade and leading into a blade lock.  
  
Lilac grunted with the strain as she was forced back through War Lilac's immense strength, "Argh! You don't have to do this! Any of it!"  
  
War Lilac grinned, ""Come on, Dragon! Give in to the madness! I'm awake in every braincell and I want to rip my way out of your little, impulsive head and take over! Soon, you too shall relent to the insanity, your ears bouncing to the deep deep beat of war! And with the taste of blood on your tongue...OOH, it'll be orgasmic!"  
  
"I will NEVER become you!" Lilac screamed again, rushing forward and swinging once more. This time, the Blade struck a cord and slashed War Lilac across her chest, wounding her to a more obvious extent. She grunted, seemingly only mildly annoyed by her now bleeding wound, before she slowly inched forward and dashed, shoulder-checking Lilac and pushing her over. She raised her own Blade above her head and brought it down, only narrowly missing Lilac rolling out of the way, who responded by kicking War Lilac in the leg and flooring her too. Both got up, and War Lilac struck first with another slash across the arm and another across the legs. Both hit and Lilac staggered back, each hit making everything much more fuzzy and numbing her limbs somewhat. The feeling spread quickly and Lilac was very close to being limp, only able to weakly swing the Blade. War Lilac grinned, stepping forward and sending another three strong strikes her way, two across her chest and another across her stomach. She finally buckled, slamming back to the floor, her vision a haze of static. War Lilac cried out in laughter. Nevertheless, Lilac swung with the Blade again, War Lilac dodging and blocking every swing with her own Blade, before the two entered into a blade lock. It was clear to Lilac that both were unskilled with using this weapon, at least at the moment, but War Lilac was stronger while Lilac herself was faster. Much faster. War Lilac dashed forward and swung once more, this time vertically, barely missing Lilac and plunging her own Blade into the ground, where it got stuck. War Lilac was left struggling, cursing her own strength, which Lilac took as a final opportunity. She was sure she was going to regret what she was about to do, but it had to be done. She kicked War Lilac in the face, sending her sprawled across the floor. Finally, Lilac raised the Blade above her, fighting off the screaming and the static, before plunging it directly into War Lilac's chest. She screamed briefly, slowly turning to deranged laughter and Lilac sank to her knees in despair.  
  
"Well..." War Lilac grinned, "I think you're ready after all."  
  
" _YES..._ " Demon!Blade growled, " _SHE IS READY. SOON YOU SHALL FALL TO OUR POWER. MAY YOU SPEND YOUR FINAL FEW HOURS WISELY..._ "  
  
"Lilac!" came another familiar voice. Lilac snapped out of this funk, War Lilac's body vanishing in the process, and looked upwards. Her jaw fell at the sight. It was Mayor Zao's truck, just slowly coming to a stop. Lilac couldn't believe her eyes (or at this point, her mind) as the giant mechanical monster slowly skidded to a stop. On it, protected by sheet steel, was a bunch of old Red Scarves members wearing ad-hoc Armour and wielding evidently high quality spears and swords. The wheels screeched as the truck slowly came to a stop, the side door swinging open, with a green wildcat hopping out and sprinting towards the floored Lilac, "Lilac! You're here! As she said!"  
  
"Carol..." Lilac shivered, "Why did you come back?"  
  
"Real friends don't abandon their own," Carol sighed, giving the dragon a small hug, "Lilac, I'm so sorry. I don't care how many times I need to say it, I'm..." She sighed, "I'm sorry."  
  
"It's..." Lilac said weakly, "It's all my fault anyway. How's uh...how's your hand?"  
  
"It's gonna get in the way a bit..." Carol said, holding her hand up. What was once a mere stump now had a metallic replacement attached to it, with visible hinges and the right about of digits, "But it's gonna be fine. Look, someone's sent me to get you. She goes by the name of...Amelia, or something. She saved Torque from whatever War Master did to him, but the jackbutt's sealed entry into this universe, so they can't get in. But they have a way to save you!"  
  
"Then they better hurry," Blade sighed, "We got into a fight. Of sorts. Turns out Lilac's evil half is getting a bit sick of just idling, so she's tried to fight he way out. And, frankly, that's severed her mental ties. At best, we've got a few hours until there's nothing we can do. Look, what're you gonna do?"  
  
"War Master's trying to get the Dreadnought up and running in the middle of the Battle Glacier," Carol explained, "We're using the full strength of the Red Scarves to rush through the area and get to him. Then we...dispose of him in some fashion, get Amelia and Torque here and get you back to full mental health. Sound good?"  
  
"Yeah..." Lilac grinned, "Soun-sounds good."  
  
"Great!" Carol cheered, "Spade, she's ready to fight! If we make good time, we'll just make it for...about 4:30. Right, Red Scarves, time to roll out!"  
  
=====================  
4:30, at the Battle Glacier  
=====================  
  
"How're you holding up, miss Lilac?" Neige was asking. Lilac sighed and clasped at her head. The journey to the Battle Glacier had been long and tiresome. Lilac, having replaced her bandages and clad herself in the same slapdash Armour that the others had clambered into, had finally collapsed in the truck's cabin for restless and haunted sleep. No dreams, no nightmares, just endless mental thrashing trying to keep everything under control. Even when she woke up several hours later, she felt numb, like she wasn't the owner of this body anymore. Like she was only holding onto it until its true owner came back to...reclaim it.  
  
"I'm not...I'm not good..." Lilac grumbled, "I feel sick, distanced. Like I don't belong. This...this madness. It isn't insanity. It's a disease."  
  
"Not too well, then..." Neige sighed, "I'm...sorry for asking."  
  
"Don't act sorry for asking, kid..." Lilac sighed, a small fake smile across her face, "You're only looking out for me as a fellow Red Scarf member. Heck, I remember when I was like you. Young, shy, willing to steal from anyone to get by. It's probably a bad thing when THAT'S what your glory days are. I mean, clearly, right?"  
  
"Yeah..." Neige looked forlorn, staring out against the tumbling world around them. The scenery had shifted to something colder, with blackened snow slowly falling from the heavens, shifting quite rapidly at this point.  
  
"Hey, chin up..." Lilac retained her smile, "You're fighting for something much more heroic. You're fighting to keep the world safe."  
  
"Yeah..." Carol grinned, still sitting in the cabin, "Perhaps if we survive this new war everyone's talking about and neither side survives the crossfire, we can upgrade the Red Scarves to something a bit...greater."  
  
Spade, who was driving the truck, seemed to be amused at this remark, "What, rule a whole area?" he paused for thought, "Sounds insane...but perhaps its worth a shot."  
  
"Hey, speaking of..." Lilac started, "When is this war supposed to take place?"  
  
"I dunno..." Carol scratched the side of her head, "They said there were a couple of city-wide broadcasts, but we never got any. And we were just in range for Shuigang's TV channels."  
  
"Perhaps Clone Master's stopped Dail from taking part," Blade pondered, "After all, no need to get his own kingdom destroyed if these two clowns are going to wipe themselves out."  
  
"Uh, guys..." came Spade's slightly panicked voice, "I think I know when this war was about to start...say, about...4:30, at the Battle Glacier?"  
  
Carol paused, a look of confusion upon her face. She quickly dashed towards the front of the truck and stared out of the windshield, as did Lilac. The two gasped; all around the Battle Glacier was fire and explosions. The war was here! In full swing at the Battle Glacier! Even with all the tiny details missing, everywhere Lilac could see was death and destruction.  
  
"Oh no!" Lilac cursed, "I should've known!"  
  
"Uh, quick question..." Blade began to ask, "What IS the Battle Glacier, exactly?"  
  
"It's where the kingdoms of Shuigang and Shang Mu had their final battle in the Civil War," Neige quickly explained, "They eventually stopped fighting and called a truce. But not before so many people died..."  
  
"Hmm..." Blade mused, "So the first battle of the new war is where the old one ended. How depressingly poetic."  
  
"Blade, don't go all miserable NOW!" Lilac groaned, "We've gotta get to the Dreadnought before it takes off!"  
  
"War Master said the thing will ascend at 5," Carol said quickly, "If we go full pelt, we should make it in five minutes!"  
  
"Carol, this truck is large but it's fragile," Spade said quickly, "It won't survive if we go headlong!"  
  
"It's all we've got, Spade! Floor it and brace yourself!" Carol said, bounding into the trailer, "Everyone! Get your heads down and keep away from the walls! This is gonna get rough!"  
  
Spade sighed, then growled. Guess he didn't have a choice. It was either they died in the middle of a battlefield, or they died by enough lasers to blot out the sun. Hard to tell which one was worse, really. Oh well. Spade yelled and floored the gas pedal, which the truck responded to with a roar and screamed forward into the fray. Everywhere were soldiers fighting, dying, with reckless and endless abandon. Everywhere there were explosions, blood and flames from rudimentary explosives. Bottles full of flammable liquids and rags. Probably not the first time those had been seen. Still, Spade had no time to stall. Every second had to count at this point. Lilac too was in the front now, keeping her eyes on every part of the battlefield. It was almost appalling. Friends, family, all slain. And all for what? A little more power? Great. The truck pressed on, slamming into a couple of soldiers on each side in the process, before finally landing on a more stable part of ground. They had to keep going, no matter what. There was no point getting involved in this war, it would only slow them down. So they didn't, zooming across the packed ice like no tomorrow and still going fast and strong. Eventually, the Dreadnought's remains came into view, and what a sight it was. But alas, the thing was now quite operational, its engines now ablaze and slowly gaining speed.  
  
"Carol!" Neige was calling out, "Its rising! We're not gonna make it!"  
  
"Yes we are..." Lilac stepped up and held Blade up to her face, "Blade, my Dragon Boost. It was helped by my tendrils, but they're gone. Can you improvise?"  
  
"I can do my best!" Blade said quickly, "Why?"  
  
"Oh, nothing..." Lilac lied, turning to Carol, "You ready?"  
  
"Ready?" Carol asked, "For what?"  
  
"For something insane!" Lilac grabbed Carol by the arm and led her out of the still moving truck and onto its roof, "Hang on, Carol. READY, BLADE?!"  
  
"READY!" Blade called out, "ACTIVATING DRAGON BOOST!"  
  
Carol had no time to scream, as a mystical roar overtook her own and she was suddenly pulled forward. The world became nothing but a violent blur, twisting and turning quite viciously, before finally hitting the steel side of the Dreadnought and blacking out.


	14. Curtain Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DeviantART Link: https://masterperrymartin.deviantart.com/art/Freedom-Dies-With-Me-CHAPTER-13-567301984

"Clone Master sir, I'm picking readings of two life signs within the generator room. They're on board!"  
  
"As predicted. Don't worry about the dog. She'll be just enough. Either Milla falls or Lilac turns. I die...or she does. Ready for this?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
Carol was the first to awaken, a rare circumstance at this point. She was staring at some kind of metallic floor, light blue lines pulsating across it and grates installed into it. She looked at her hands, first her organic one and then her metallic. Her original hand was bleeding slightly, but was otherwise fine, while the mechanical hand responded with same old whirrs that it had since its installation. Generally okay, then. Good. She got to her feet and saw where she was. It was a large, imposing room with green glowing wires in the distance and similar glowing pipes scattered across the walls and under the floor. Even more lights joined the fray, a mixture of blues and oranges, with a distinct purple haze covering everything. But perhaps most interesting? The middle of the room held what could only be described as a generator of some sort, a massive assortment of pipes and wires the stretched from the floor to the ceiling above her. And then, situated within the giant glass tube and glowing a powerful aqua colour, was the Kingdom Stone itself.  
  
"Whoa..." Carol gasped for air, before she looked relieved, "The...the Kingdom Stone! It's here! Lilac!"   
  
Carol turned to see where Lilac had landed. She was sprawled out across the floor very near to her position, her ad-hoc plating damaged beyond repair from the impact. Even now, there was a giant gaping hole behind them which gave a view of the world below them. The war had escalated quite violently, with what could be seen below now nothing more but a scarred wasteland. Bodies of friends and family lay everywhere, but clearly nowhere enough to stop the fighting. Even now, the two sides were still duking it out, stabbing and spearing and shouting all the while. It almost sickened Carol to an extent. To get a shining rock get in the way of relations. All this dying for something that never belonged to anyone. Oh well. There wasn't the time to think about this. She had a world to save. She sprinted over to Lilac and rocked her awake, which she did with a groan.  
  
"Uuurgh..." Lilac groaned, slowly getting to her knees, "Did we make it?"  
  
"We did!" Blade said happily, "I've managed to duplicate that Dragon Boost...thing. Think I overdid it, though. Well, there's a hole almost the size of the United Island in the middle of the ship. So that's a hint.   
  
Lilac looked dazed, "Where are we?"  
  
"I dunno..." Carol said, "Some sorta...generator room. But look! The Kingdom Stone!"  
  
"It's...here!" Lilac cried out happily, "It's here! YES!" she got up and sprinted headlong towards the machine, looking at the Kingdom Stone itself. It was shining the same old off colours it always did, an ominous hum slowly and surely emitting and spreading across the room. Lilac stared at it, then at the nearby machine that was connected to the tube. It seemed to be slowly siphoning the energies away from the Stone, a large power bar stuck to its side slowly increasing in light blue rings, "This machine...it's draining the energies!"  
  
"Looks like it's trying to refuel the Dreadnought's engines..." Blade grumbled, "Nothing a little Hollywood Hacking won't solve. Just stab the console and I'll see what I can do!"  
  
"...Okay..." Lilac said, an uneasy tone to her voice. She raised the Blade up high and brought it down crashing into the computer console. There were a few errant beeps and whirrs from inside the machine, but they eventually ceased, "Are you in?"  
  
"I am indeed," Blade said, "Right, accessing files now...RIGHT, found the right command. Just activating it..."  
  
"CEASE."  
  
That single, powerful word suddenly caused a set of sparks around the console, with Blade only letting out a, "Oh shi-" before being flung out of the console and skidding across the floor.   
  
"Oh, Lilly..." the voice sounded again, "Did you think I'd let Blade be totally under your control? I'm not THAT insane, you know. Still have to control that thing sometimes. Gotta love DNA backups, eh? Heh heh."  
  
Lilac rushed to pick him up, before looking at the source of the voice with a scowl on her face.  
  
"Clone Master!" Lilac screamed, "Where are you?!"  
  
"Why would I tell you?" the voiced sounded yet again, "I'm not quite finished up here. Gotta run a few more...procedures."  
  
"Why're you doing this?!" Carol demanded herself, "Why continue Brevon's work?"  
  
"I suppose I owe you a brief explanation, don't I Wildcat?" War Master sighed, "Alright, here's the rundown; I'm not exactly the REAL War Master. I'm a clone and I'm dying. I need a replacement. And I'm afraid your dragon girl is the best alternative. Otherwise I'd probably give the Blade to YOU. Imagine that; War Carol. Doesn't REALLY have the same ring to it, though."  
  
"And what about all this?!" Carol demanded again, gesturing towards the Kingdom Stone's tube, "Why get the Dreadnought running? Why kickstart this awful war? Good people are DYING down there."  
  
"Well, you can't blame me for wanting to go out with a bang, can you?" Clone Master cackled, "My one swan song. Doesn't matter. One glimpse of the world I'll leave behind and it'll all make perfect sense..."  
  
Lilac stepped forward, "Show yourself!"  
  
"However..." Clone Master's voice continued to ring out, "It's maybe...too late for you. You won't live to see the dawn. Unlike that dog of yours..."  
  
Lilac went blank, then went white with the shock. Milla! In all her angst and rage she completely forgot about her! She felt sick and guilty almost instantly; how could she forget about Milla? How could she let her get kidnapped? The amount of pain and suffering she must have gone through.  
  
"...Milla!" Carol cried out in anger, "Where is she?!"  
  
"She's safe..." Clone Master said finally, "...Actually, how about you meet her yourselves? Brace yourselves. The Warmongers are coming in..."  
  
There was a bright flash of light and a diseased cackle as the lights above the two heroines flared up as a sick form of introduction. Clone Master was first onto the scene, slowly emerging from parts unknown. The lights dimmed soon enough, rendering all behind him in the shadows. He flashed another grin, "Lilac, old girl..."  
  
"YOU!" Lilac screamed, dashing forward and swinging with Blade once again. Clone Master blocked every swing, using only a single arm holding Brevon's bleeding blade. A vertical swing blocked by a horizontal swing, a slash countered by a swing, liquid splashing across Lilac's face and some of the blood slipping down her throat. She stopped briefly to cough, before swinging the Blade again and catching Clone Master's wrist. He yelled, dropping the bladed weapon in his hand and falling to the floor. Before Lilac could do almost anything else, however, her vision was blocked by some sort of green energy. She was hit quite badly in the chest, the wind knocked out of her and a massive pain spreading across her body, and she flew back before skidding across the floor. She got up, coughing up some blackened blood in the process, before looking up at what had hit her. It seemed to be the Prince himself, standing near War Master with a smug smile on his face.  
  
"Prince Dail..." Clone Master said fondly, "Nice of you to drop in. Was that your green energy ball?"  
  
"No, sir..." Dail said, slowly stepping aside, "But I think I know who did. Miss Basset, if you could be so kind..."  
  
"YES, DAIL SIR..." came an almost robotic voice. But a voice that was still all too familiar. The creature slowly shambled out of the shadows and what was there caused Lilac to cry out in denial; Milla! She was standing next to Clone Master, slowly helping him to his feet. She was in the same old clothes as last time, only now a good portion of her once cream fur was a wounded, burnt grey colour, almost like Lilac's own in fact. Some sort of generator, with green pipes connecting to attachments on her arms and legs, was attached to her back. Her eyes, once a radiant green, now glowed a dim red and showed little emotion, while her mouth was quivering frown.  
  
"Milla!" Lilac cried out again, "No!"  
  
"Yes..." Clone Master giggled, getting to his feet. He stomped around to Milla, "MILLY GIRL! Where do your duties lie?"  
  
Milla geared up to bark some more, "IT IS MY DUTY TO PROTECT MY MASTER'S KINGDOM."  
  
"You would sacrifice your very life for the good of this kingdom, wouldn't you?"  
  
"YES."  
  
Clone Master grinned, slowly shuffling to Milla's opposite side, "And you would crush all those who threaten its safety?"  
  
"WE MUST PROTECT IT AT ALL COSTS..."  
  
"Goooood..." Clone Master, "Sorry Lil. I'm afraid she's mine now. You and her are my...entertainment. And, frankly, you're beginning to bore me a little. Either you accept the demons in your head NOW...or Milla's gonna put you through the wringer until you're FORCED to..."  
  
"Screw you!" Lilac growled.  
  
"Thought so..." Clone Master cackled, "Milla, would you be so kind as to set up the arena?"  
  
"YES SIR..." Milla barked once again. She raised her hands and a blinding light filled the arena. Lilac winced and arched backwards, barely seeing the giant green needles erupt from the light and spread around the room. Carol yelled in shock and darted out of the way, looking for cover. It did not take long for the needles, each the size of a car, to slam into the ground and form a neat circle around Lilac and Milla. Lilac was in shock; Milla's powers were never THIS powerful. Milla stopped glowing, looking as if she was in pain, "ARENA COMPLETED...SIR..."  
  
"Talk about souped up, eh?" Clone Master chuckled, "That's what that generator is for. Powers up her Sira powers to almost inconceivable levels!"  
  
"But that's a massive amount of energy!" Lilac cried out, "Sira powers are already strenuous enough! It's why they have fragile bodies! Any more energy could rot them from the inside out!"  
  
"Well then I guess she knows how I feel at the moment," Clone Master coughed violently, "Still, nice to know SOMEONE did the research. Now, Milla...make your master proud."  
  
"Milla..." Lilac said quickly, "Fight whatever's in your head! Please don't try to kill me!"  
  
"...REQUEST DENIED. BEGINNING ATTACK ON LILAC, SASH. PREPARE, OR PERISH."  
  
Milla was the first to attack, dashing forward and conjuring up another green block at the same time. She, rather than throwing it as she normally would, swung it around close to Lilac's head. She missed, the weight of the block throwing her off as well, before she arched up for another swing. Lilac made no attempt to attack her, only trying to block with Blade and pushing the block away. She didn't want to strike the poor puppy, and she wasn't going to. Milla threw the block, bashing Lilac in the side of the head and flooring her. Milla responded by jumping forward, energy needle in hand, and trying to force it into the dragon's chest. Lilac blocked it with the Blade in one hand while grabbing the shard itself in the other. Her vision was going dark, and a scratchy voice was slowly echoing in her mind.  
  
"Lilaaaaac..." came the voice, "It's me, your old sister War! I think it's cracking time, don't you?"  
  
"No!" Lilac cried out, forcing the shard away, "I won't turn to your insanity!"  
  
"You have to!" War Lilac yelled, "Why else do you think he's making you fight Milla? Either you kill her here and let me take over, or we BOTH die! I haven't come this far to die in some dragon brat's battered body! How about I give you a push?!"  
  
Suddenly, every synapse in Lilac's brain screamed in rage. Lilac herself had no option but roar herself. She felt weak, but strong, spiralling out of control. She could feel herself push the shard away and push the dog off of her. She slammed to the floor and Lilac got to her feet. She felt only a vague sense of control, like she was still herself but being controlled like a puppet. She dashed forward and swung Blade again, barely missing the dog. She followed up with an upwards kick, uppercutting the dog into the air, from which she jumped up to follow up. Milla, however, had conjured up another block in the air and aimed it downwards. The laser hit Lilac square in the chest and she was pushed back to the floor. Milla wasted no time in following this up, conjuring up a large amount of lasers from almost nothing and firing them in almost every direction. Lilac had no time to think, instead dodging each laser by a hare and swinging with Blade at Milla's feet. She jumped and conjured up another laser, firing directly into Lilac and pushing her to the floor again. She groaned in pain, weak and almost like her entire body was on fire. She could only watch as Milla screamed in pain too and fell to her knees.  
  
Lilac groaned in pain, "Milla's body can't take the strain! If you keep this up it'll kill her! You have to stop this!"  
  
"No!" War Master growled, "Not until one of you dies!"  
  
"Yeah, he's right!" came War Lilac's voice again, "This is a hopeless scenario. That dog is DYING. Why not put her out of her misery?"  
  
Lilac could feel her arm spring forward with Blade in hand. She panicked and grabbed her own arm, forcing it back and literally fighting back the urge to attack Milla. She was screaming no, but her head screamed yes.  
  
"NO!" she screamed defiantly, "I won't kill Milla!"  
  
"How...unfortunate," Clone Master sighed, "The average mind is a tough nut to crack. People always think there's a sense of morality, that there's a proper way to deal with psychopaths, a proper way to kill someone. How absurd. It's denial, an aesthetic. I'm here to break down that barrier. You WILL see violence for what it is, what it truly takes to kill people, and you will RELISH in it! YOU WILL-"  
  
There was a certain cracking sound and Clone Master's face fell, his rant stopped. He fell forwards, slamming into the metal floor, dazed but very much conscious. In his place, in his red scarf and blue jacket, was a certain familiar face.  
  
"Traveller?!"  
  
"...Chaos, this clone could waffle for his country!" Traveller smirked under his scarf. Traveller smirked. He wasted no time, climbing up into the crystal ring and grabbing the struggling Milla. Eventually, she relented and slowly slipped out of consciousness, going limp in Traveller's grasp, "Phew...that was a close one."  
  
The crystals around the three slowly eroded into nothing, leaving naught but a thin black circle burnt into the floor. Carol finally peeked out from cover, saw the commotion and sprinted forwards to meet up with the group.  
  
"I...I don't get it," Lilac babbled, "How're you here?"  
  
"It's a long story..." Traveller began, "Well, you know Amelia? That chick who said she couldn't get in here and wanted to help you? Well she found where War Master abandoned me and Torque and...well, long story short she nursed me back to full health. Tried to keep me bedridden though while she went off and tried to stop War Master. She failed, but I managed to find a way in. A good portion of this is my fault, after all. I have to do SOMETHING."  
  
"Well, one weapon of war to another..." Blade said happily, "It's good to see you, slugger."  
  
"So...how's Milla?" Carol asked, "Is she going to be okay?"  
  
"Let me just..." Traveller said slowly, focusing on Milla and concentrating, "...Brainwashing, eh? Even I never did that back in the day. We're in luck, though. It's a pretty lousy Type 2 change, I guess Clone Master didn't have enough time to get a more secure level in. The brainwashing is so weak that it can be overridden by extreme emotion. Such as, say, extreme trauma. So she's gonna be just fine. Actually, might as well remove that infernal generator. Might wake her up. Here goes..."  
  
Traveller reached up and flicked the switch on the generator attached to Milla's back, its lights slowly dimming as the whirrs and hums it produced began to cease until there was but silence. With that done, he grasped the machine, ripping the wires out of the pack itself so only the tubes secured to Milla's arms remained, then threw the generator across the room. The dog within his grasp slowly woke up, a moaning sound escaping her throat. Her eyelids were heavy, her eyes bloodshot, a small slither of blood dribbling out of her mouth. She slowly looked up and around at the three within her view, before suddenly jerking into a full state of alert, "Ah! I...Lilac? Carol? Wha...what happened?"  
  
"You..." Lilac said, fighting back her own mental fatigue, "You were...brainwashed. Tried to attack us. I...almost had to harm you."  
  
"Really?" Carol asked, looking over her friend, "Lil...you don't look too good."  
  
"On the brink, that's my wager..." Traveller said, "Look, I've seen this before, it ain't too late. Just have to follow a strict set of instructions and we SHOULD be able to restore your sanity. Wipe War Lilac clean off the universe forever. This is what we've got to do..."  
  
"NOW, DAIL!" came another scream. There was a violent crash as a large, purple explosion sounded off amongst the group. They were scattered, thrown across the room before skidding to stops within it. Carol and Traveller were floored, too concussed to move, while Lilac was able to slowly get to her knees and study what had got them. It was Prince Dail, some kind of purple energy in his hand, grabbing a struggling Milla with his free arm. Clone Master, his face now an angry sneer, was on his feet and aiming Traveller's Deagle at the group. Clone Master growled again, "Let ONE parasite stand, and you ALL die. This has gone far enough."  
  
"I'll say..." Lilac grumbled, "You've got nowhere else to run. Just stand down and we won't hurt you! Heroes don't kill..."  
  
"Not even after all I'm done?!" Clone Master bellowed, incredibly irritated, "That won't do! That won't do at ALL! DAIL! Bring me the dog!" Dail did so, slowly arching the struggling Milla towards the Warmonger, holding her to his side so her back was clear. She was held in front of Lilac, still trying to get to injured her feet, while Traveller and Carol could only watch and attempt to do the same, Clone Master slowly approached Milla, drawing Brevon's blade and aiming it forward. His casual demeanour was all but gone. He was sick, dying and clearly at the end of his tether, "I really didn't want to do this, but you leave me little alternative. You brought this upon yourself, dragon girl..."  
  
Clone Master said little more, instead strengthening his grasp on the bleeding Blade. Then, to a chorus of pained screams, he thrust the weapon directly forwards, piercing Milla's back and skewering her right through the chest. She did not scream, only gasp and gargle as red and green blood mixed with relative ease. Lilac could only wrench out an agonised, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" as Clone Master quickly tugged on the blade to pull it out of the dog, causing her to stumble forward a few paces and fall to the ground. Lilac, despite all else, threw herself to her feet and sprinted over to the downed dog. She knelt by the body, checking it over. The wound in the dog's chest was large, crimson blood pouring at at an alarming rate.  
  
"Milla, NO!" Lilac wailed, "I...I just...DON'T DIE ON ME!"  
  
"Lilac..." Milla wheezed, her breathing stumped, "It...it hurts..."  
  
"It's...it's gonna be okay..." Lilac mumbled erratically, her breathing also taken in tiny bursts, "Maybe we can get you yo Torque or that Amelia girl? Fix you up, just like Traveller. R-Right?" She turned to Traveller in desperation, "RIGHT?!"  
  
"Lilac..." Milla gasped again, "I'm...I'm sorry I had to attack you. I was...forced to. I was still in there, the entire fight, crying out to stop the pain. I'm...I'm so sorry, Lilac. I didn't want to hurt you. Can...can I touch your..." a violent cough escaped her throat, "Your hair?"  
  
"My tendrils?" Lilac stammered, "They're gone, Milla. Cut off."  
  
"Oh..." Milla sighed, "Okay...never mind..."  
  
Milla's eyes dimmed and she went limp, slipping almost gracefully back to the floor. Lilac could only painfully scream again and collapse over the body, sobbing miserably. Carol could only lie on the ground, her eyes stuffed with tears and small gibbers escaping her throat. Traveller too forced himself to the ground, twitching at seemingly random intervals, his eyes trained on the floor. Clone Master was making a gesture at Dail, who simply stood some space. There was mere silence in the room, with the only possible sound being Lilac's pained, screaming sobbing over the small, bleeding body before her. It took some time, but her sobbing slowly quietened, only to be replaced at the final few moments with something else.  
  
Laughing.  
  
Lilac's body began to twitch and spasm just as much as Traveller's, it slowly rising off of the dying dog and tensing up. Her laughs started as sobbing giggles, keeping in with her previous activity, but it soon evolved to high-pitched normal giggling. From there is advanced to standard laughter, her mouth slowly opening more and showing small parts of her teeth eroding until all that remained were sharp fangs lining her gums. The laughter than transformed again, now leading more energetic and deranged laughs, her eye slowly opening to the shock of the crowd. As she raised herself off of Milla's body, her laughs now finalized as deranged, screaming guffaws, her eyes almost dissolved to leave a black void with red, pinprick pupils in their place.  
  
Lilac's laughs vanished among the screaming, her gaze snapping to meet Clone Master eye-to-eye. He showed no fear, only grinning and spreading his arms to look like some sort of target. Lilac screamed a final time and rushed towards Clone Master, Blade of Hysteria clenched in hand and mouth almost foaming in anticipation. Clone Master still did nothing, watching the dragon scream towards him and dive straight into his body. He was floored and Lilac raised Blade up high in a dramatic fashion, before bringing it down into Clone Master's chest. He grunted, but Lilac raised Blade once more and stabbed the Warmonger in the chest again. And again. And again. And again. Soon her arm was naught but a blur, stabbing Clone Master in the chest over and over, never pausing for breath and grunting and screaming with every last strike. No-one dared to make a move against her, too scared or too shocked to even approach this grisly scene.  
  
"I WILL END YOU!" Lilac roared, "I WILL TEAR OUT EVERY ESSENCE OF YOUR BEING! I WILL MAKE YOU FEEL EVERY LAST OUNCE OF PAIN YOU HAVE MADE ME SUFFER! I WILL PUT YOU IN A FUCKING BOX! DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEERRRRGHH!!!"  
  
Eventually, the dragon girl slowed down, each stab punctuated now only by pained and sob-racked yelling, before Traveller finally saw an opportunity. He quickly rushed up behind the dragon and gabbed her, restraining her arms and lifting her up, leaving her to kick the empty space. She was covered in blood at this point, it dripping down her face and body by the litre, Blade still clutched in her hand and drenched in a dark crimson.  
  
"Lilac!" Traveller yelled, "For Chaos's sake, he's dead! Let it go!"  
  
"NO!" Lilac cried out weakly, her struggles getting weaker and weaker, "I...I will...Milla...I'm..."  
  
She finally went limp, unconscious but very much alive. Traveller slowly put her on the floor, pulling her into a hug as he began to silently cry into her shoulder.   
  
"I'm sorry..." he whispered, his voice distressed, "I'm so sorry..."   
  
Traveller finally set Lilac down, pressing on her wrist until it relented and loosened its grip on the infernal Blade of Hysteria. He picked up the Blade, twisting the gem on its handle in random directions a couple of time. The glowing lines on Blade faded, before returning.  
  
"Backup DNA uploaded," came Blade's almost mechanical reply, "Main User DNA re-established. Guess...you're my Master, again."  
  
Traveller said nothing, sneering at the weapon before slipping it into its old holster. If anyone had to bear the burden of this infernal weapon, it would be him and him alone. He slowly hobbled over to see the creature that used to be Clone Master. His chest area was almost unrecognisable, so engulfed was it by blood and torn clothing. Clone Master, despite everything, breathed still, his weak gasps of air removed from his happy grin.  
  
"You villain sue piece of shit..." Traveller growled, "Why won't you die? Why did you do this?!"  
  
"Because..." Clone Master croaked, "The great Warmonger will not die to some mere clone cancer. I have better plans, plans I know Lilly will fulfil. Now you see, don't you? This was destined to happen...it's just that you weren't the one to do it. And yet you still did. War Lilac is born to continue my...no, your legacy. My duty is done, so I can die a happy man. Enjoy your new apprentice...murderer..."   
  
Clone Master gave out a final chuckle, chocked with blood and coughing, before the red dots of his eyes went out like a TV screen and he slumped over. Traveller only looked at the body for a few seconds, before finally sighing and stumbling over to the Kingdom Stone's chamber. Carol had gotten to her feet and sprinted towards Prince Dail, knocking him to the floor too and keeping him there with her boot, punching him with her off-hand. She was in no condition to kill him, but she wasn't going to let him escape either. Traveller looked up at the Kingdom Stone, contained within the tube and still giving off its aura, then sighed to himself.  
  
"We went all this way..." Traveller groaned, "Killed all these people, lost all these good minds...to get a fucking battery."  
  
"Not just any old battery..." Blade sighed, "A super battery that the Master Emerald has no tabs on. All this death and insanity...for this. You thinking what I'm thinking?"  
  
"Yeah..." Traveller growled, "We have to get rid of this somehow. Destroy it, remove it, do SOMETHING with it. Hell, I'd even give it to the Zone Cops, if they'd accept it. This world doesn't deserve this thing. Not anymore."  
  
Carol ignored the two, finally knocked the battered Dail unconscious and went to check on Lilac. She was still conked out, spread across the floor. Her breathing was strained and erratic, with gasping wheezes making up most of it. She was on her back, the blood on her face and clothes (what there was of them) slowly dripped down and made a small puddle around her. It was almost impossible to believe that, not four days previous, this dragon girl was happy and smiling, saving the world with the best of 'em. Carol thought back to within the Majister's palace, Lilac promising herself and Milla a night out after all this went away. Nothing now but a promise never fulfilled, not out of laziness but due to tragedy. Carol fought back her own tears and continued her approach. She slowly knelt by Lilac's body and shook her slightly, trying to get her awake. Finally, a single groan escaped the dragon's throat and she slowly raised herself to a sitting position. Her eyes looked no different this time. They were still the red pinpricked voids that they were before. There was almost little more to say. Guess War Lilac was here now, and here to stay.  
  
"Lilac..." Carol whimpered, "Are you...okay?"  
  
"Okay?" Lilac giggled, a small grin across her face, "I'm...I'm okay. I'm more than okay! I'm freakin' FANTASTIC! I've never felt better in my life! You know..." she turned to glower at the wildcat, "No thanks to you."  
  
"Me?" Carol asked, "I guess you've...reverted, right? I'm to blame."  
  
"Not exactly..." Lilac sighed, "You're kinda all to blame. You for abandoning me, Traveller for even coming here in the first place, Brevon for thinking himself invincible and allowing all of this to happen, all the members of the three kingdoms for being greedy, power-mad morons!"  
  
"Story of our life, more or less..." Carol sighed, "So...are you coming back again? Can I say sorry...just one more time?"  
  
"...NOPE!" Lilac shrieked, throwing herself to her feet. She slowly stumbled over to Clone Master's body and, after staring at it for some time, took his bleeding blade and dipped her hand into one of the numerous wounds she had made. She swiped her fingers across her face, leaving two streaks of blood under her eyes, before turning to Carol and started to pose, "I'm afraid Lilac's gone, my dear. Right down the freakin' crapper! Not even gonna bother using 'Sash'. Seriously, what kinda name is that? Look upon me, wildcat! For while Lilac is dead, WAR Lilac has risen from the ashes!"  
  
"Well..." Carol said, her lip quivering, "There go all my friends..."  
  
"Ahh, cheer up," War Lilac grinned, "If it's any consolation, it's gonna get a lot worse."  
  
"...How?"  
  
Before another word could be said, there was a violent explosion somewhere within the ship and the entire thing rocked about violently. The group was thrown around, some falling to their feet for like the fifth time that day, scrambling to their feet. Traveller was rushing towards Blade, having stuck the weapon into the computer console to have another go at disabling the generator, "BLADE! What the bloody hell was that?!"  
  
"Damn!" Blade shouted, "Specially coded Firewall! Clone Master's managed to keep us out of the mainframe surrounding this thing! It's disabled the generator and redirected the siphoned power elsewhere! The engine room's in pieces!"  
  
"Why?!" Carol turned to War Lilac, "How's it gonna get worse?! Tell us!"  
  
"Simple, really," War Lilac remained calm, even among the blaring sirens and explosions, "I've had a LOTTA time to think, what with being stuck in your dragon friend's noggin and all. I thought, 'What would someone like Clone Master DO with the Dreadnought and the Kingdom Stone?' And then it hit me. He'd do the same thing I'd do; charge it up to such an extent to get us high in the air, then cut the power and shred the engine rooms. Sufficient force will destroy anything, after all, and the resultant crash should JUST be enough to crack the Kingdom Stone."  
  
"She's right!" Blade screamed, "The Dreadnought's falling outta the damn sky! We're gonna crash into the Battle Glacier!"  
  
"Oh no..." Traveller's voice went quiet, a look of fear across his face, "All that energy in the Kingdom Stone, released in such a short burst alongside the explosions from the Dreadnought? That'd be stronger than a good fifty nukes, no contest!"  
  
"So that was the meteor sized spaceship thing we read about..." Blade realised, "Plunging the Dreadnought into the Battle Glacier with all this energy's gonna wipe a good chunk of the area clean off the face of the earth! It's gonna reduce Shang Mu to rubble! We've gotta get outta here!"  
  
"Got it!" Traveller cried, dragging Blade out of the console. This was Clone Master's swan song, then. No time to savour the moment, it was time to get out of Dodge. No use going for the lifeboats, though. No way in damnation they would be fast enough. There was only one way out; the Gary Stu way. Traveller arched Blade upwards and stabbed forward, hitting empty space and creating some sort of rip in the air. He dragged down, enlarging the rip in the air before swinging out of it and leaving a tear in the middle of empty space. It opened to a jagged circle, some sort of howling abyss beyond the realms of imagination, sucking air into it and scattering a lot of debris around the area.  
  
"Care to tell me what that is?!" Carol asked.  
  
"Don't you remember?" Blade called out, "I can cut through reality itself! This portal should get us to a safe area!"  
  
"But-"  
  
"MOVE, WILDCAT!" War Lilac screamed, shoving Carol through the portal and watching her yells of shock fade. She looked vaguely satisfied, before going to the slowly awakening Prince and grabbing him by the scuff of the neck, "You too, buddy! I ain't finished with you, yet!"  
  
War Lilac dragged Dail through the portal, his screams too fading with time. Traveller was last, as ever. He got halfway to the portal, paused to glare at the body of Clone Master in silent contemplation, then jumped into the portal and vanished into the void as well.


	15. Epilogue: Belli Finem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DeviantART Link: https://masterperrymartin.deviantart.com/art/Freedom-Dies-With-ME-EPILOGUE-568631834

Traveller's first thought after exiting the portal was a facefull of soil. Travelling via portals meant travelling almost instantaneously, after all. A quick flash of otherworldly screaming and then a dirt pillow. He groaned, slowly getting to his knees and looking at the newish world around him. Oh wait, no, it was the same old hellhole he'd created. He was on some sort of grassy hill that was just outside the borders of this Battle Glacier. Even now the area felt cold, with harsh winds blowing his scarf and the grass beneath his feet was a icey white. In the distance was the Battle Glacier itself, half-melted and half-destroyed from the war there. Traveller almost wished he could've taken part in such a conflict, if only to get closer to the Dreadnought. Such a war probably shouldn't be skipped over, he guessed, but to be fair he was running short on time. The war still seemed to be in full swing, with clashes of metal and screams of war and pain still audible even at this distance. Not for long, Traveller sighed. Even now, he could hear the screaming wind from the Dreadnought slowly falling out of the big grey-ish void above them. He just couldn't see it. Yet.  
  
He turned to look behind him, seeing who else had managed to get through the portal too. Carol was already standing, stretching and staring into the void just as much as Traveller was. To the left of them was Prince Dail, or rather what was left of him. He was lying across the snowy grass, dead and decapitated. No blood flowed out of his neck, however, with a large cluster of feathers crowded around his upper body instead. Standing to the left of his body, of course, was a very disappointed looking War Lilac.  
  
"Oh yeah..." War Lilac sighed, "Forgot Shuigang Royals bled feathers. For...some reason. Oh well. It's not like I've got enough blood on me, am I right? A-Am I right? Seriously, I wanna know."  
  
"Don't...don't worry," Carol sighed, "She made it quick."  
  
"Greeeat..." Traveller sighed. He looked out over the Battle Glacier, as did the others. He seemed to be crying somewhat, a few tears escaping the corner of his eye. To see Milla, such a young and innocent person, slain so early in her life perhaps affected him more than he'd ever admit. And now her body, alongside War Master's, would burn up in the explosion. Cease to exist. Wipe such a promising creature straight off the map. Traveller knew what was the saddest part, however; this was no different to almost every universe he had invaded, taken part in, white-knighted in. Someone close to him would die and become forgotten, ashes. Nothing...  
  
"...There it goes..." War Lilac said in a odd yet seemingly content way, "There's the Dreadnought. About freaking time, I say. And hey, it'll wipe out the warmongers, won't it?"  
  
"...What about Spade and the Red Scarves?" Carol asked bitterly.  
  
War Lilac began to speak, but stopped. A look of fear spread across her face, "Oh."  
  
The Dreadnought as indeed visible by now, its form red hot from friction and screaming into the ground at an alarming pace. All on the hilltop braced themselves for the violent shockwaves, and violent they were; the death ship finally collided with the glacier and there was an otherworldly scream as the explosion rang out amongst the land. The explosion itself was massive, destructive, but dwarfed only by the gigantic pillar of light that followed shortly afterwords. The sound was deafening, the sights blinding, the force painful and extreme. The sky lit into a mix of blue and orange blazes as giant explosions and outbursts of energy swept across the landscape and screamed for the souls of thousands of the doomed soldiers in its wake. Shockwaves and walls of forced dust blew everywhere, the explosive cloud slowly forming the shape of a blue and orange mushroom, while everyone on the hill got the shocks facefirst. They yelled, covering their heads with hands and arms, while Carol was blown off her feet and began to skid across the grass somewhat. Finally, the sounds and forces ceased, leaving only a faint rumbling in the distance. The Battle Glacier was all but gone, nothing more but a scorched wasteland with a mushroom cloud hovering above it. War Lilac stumbled forward, looking over the destruction, before whooping and jumping for joy.  
  
"That was AWESOME!" War Lilac cheered, "Did you see that? It's...it was beautiful!"  
  
Carol got to her feet, running up and looking up to the edge of the hill alongside her former friend. She said nothing, only covering her mouth in shock. Traveller did not move, looking forward with a look of bitter resentment on his face.  
  
"Hmm," Traveller mumbled, "Brothers, Sisters, Cousins...perished. When you see this kind of destruction countless times, perhaps you just grow...accustomed to it. Used to it, I dare say."  
  
"...What a revolting thought," War Lilac said, looking a tad blank, "It'd stop being fun then..."  
  
"What about the Red Scarves, though?" Carol asked, "Have they perished alongside the fighters?"  
  
"...I don't know," Traveller shrugged, "If Spade was able to get them out in time, but-"  
  
"Ah, don't worry!" came another voice, "They made it!"  
  
Traveller was the first to snap his head to the direction of this new voice, followed soon by War Lilac and Carol, who both cheered upon the sight. It was the Red Scarves' truck, everyone on it uninjured and alive, and a bewildered Spade still clutching the wheel. He was white as a ghost, as if he had seen something quite alarming. On top of the truck, panting and faintly glowing, was some kind of strawberry blond female hedgehog. She had her fur tied up into a ponytail, alongside electric blue eyes and no fringe to speak of. She wore an odd ensemble of clothes, dating from a time gone far by, such as a brown sleeveless jacket and matching black trousers alongside strapped gloves and shoes.  
  
"And..." the hedgehog panted, "I'm awesome. Well, actually that's kinda not true. If I WAS awesome I'd probably save everyone."  
  
"Amelia?" Traveller asked incredulously, "How did you get here?"  
  
"Well, it turns out that War Lilac's little...panic attack brought SOME positives..." Amelia grunted, "No War Master means no dumb seal stopping me and Torque from getting into THIS universe. I saw that glorified nuke a mile away, so I decided to save the most innocent ones there. Ironic, isn't it? A bunch of killers and thieves are the good guys in this tale."  
  
Amelia hopped down to the floor and Spade got out of the truck. He scanned the surroundings before suddenly sighting the fallen body of his own brother. He ran over to it, skidding to a stop just before the body, then looked down at it. His face showed no difference from its almost average stoic look, slowly turning to Lilac and taking in her ruined features. He mumbled, "Well. I guessed that my brother's line of work would lead him to this...no thanks to you."  
  
"ME?!" War Lilac cried out, "Sir, I am deeply offended! It's just another Royal to take down, isn't it? Not like there's too many of 'em in this world!"  
  
"As expected, not even the tiniest shred of the old Lilac in there anymore," Amelia sighed, shaking her head, "How disgusting."  
  
"Oh THAT'S rich coming from you!" War Lilac turned on the blond hedgehog, "And what've you done in this little excursion, beyond getting an multiversial door slammed in your face? Don't you see what I did back there, though admittedly on impulse, was entirely needed? The deranged maniac who ravaged this world has been vanquished!"  
  
"Not exactly," Amelia grumbled, "You're still here, aren't you?"  
  
War Lilac looked offended, but said nothing. Her mind raced for a suitable response, but nothing came. She growled and turned to walk to Carol some more. Amelia, on the other hand, walked over to Traveller to strike up her own conversation. Spade simply grunted again and began to return to his own post, while the various members of the Red Scarves repaired the damage on the truck.  
  
"So..." Amelia taunted, "Guess that's another strike off the record, to say it lightly."  
  
Traveller growled, "Sod off. I don't need any patronising trash talk from you. I was only trying to help."  
  
"How sad," Amelia sighed, "Your fatal flaw is just the same as the blue hedgehog you hate so much; you always want to help people, even when it's almost impossible. That you can redeem yourself through killing the right people. Trust me, it sounds like a good idea to me too. Still, look on the bright side; we've kinda won."  
  
"We've won? How the hell have we won?!" Traveller cried out in anguish, "Milla's dead, Neera's dead, the Prince is dead, Torque is probably half-dead as is and Lilac...I only stayed here to save her from this fate, and I kickstarted a fucking bloodbath in the process!"  
  
"Yeah..." Amelia put her hands in her pockets, "Still, gotta admire your determination. You could've walked at any time, turned your back on these people you barely knew. But you stuck around, right to the bitter end. Even though I told you not to."  
  
"What're you saying?"  
  
"I'm saying..." Amelia shrugged, "Perhaps I was a bit too strict back when I saved you. Maybe I just wanted to make sure you didn't try to change anything else."  
  
"Oh that's rich, coming from you!" Traveller spat back, "Why did you even come here in the first place? You know you can't change a universe's timeline. It's 'destiny'."  
  
"Well, less 'destiny' and more 'Multiverse Rule #111'," Amelia said, "Still, you do indeed have your own destiny to fulfill. But me? Being pumped full of your Chronos Energy freed me. I have no destiny, no part in this great chain. So I guess I...help others with their own destinies. Remove and replace rotting links. Let's face it, it's not like I can do much else without getting those Zone Cops on my backside, eh?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess you're right..." Traveller sighed.  
  
"Hey!" War Lilac said briskly, walking over to the two, "We're heading back to the Red Scarves HQ. With Dail and the others out the way, we thought it might be prudent to move our quarters into the Palace. You coming?"  
  
"Nah..." Traveller said, slowly reaching for the silent and haunted Blade in his holster, "I'm good. What're you gonna do, Ames?"  
  
"Think I might stick around," Amelia smiled, "As I said, I don't have much else I CAN do, so I might as well help these guys clean up. After all, they've got a LOT to do. Might even teach Carol the ways of Chronos Energy. Just wish I could revert War Lilac to her previous state, but...I can't. Freaking Warmongers kill the person originally in control, as with you. Same body, different mind. Doesn't work if it's not all there."  
  
"...Fine," Traveller sneered, "'Cause I'm leaving this place, and never coming back. I've ruined enough of this universe as it is."  
  
"Aww, don't you wanna stick around?" War Lilac pleaded, "See what your work will produce?"  
  
"...Goodbye, Sash Lilac."  
  
Traveller said nothing else, walking off and using Blade to open another portal. This one screamed with blue light and energy, with the same wind rushing into it. Traveller took a final look at the group before him, then walked through the portal. It closed behind him, leaving only a trace of some odd liquid behind it. Amelia turned to War Lilac and explained a few details she had missed, before walking briskly off to the truck to help with repairs. War Lilac, on the other hand, walked over to Carol and slapped her on the back, complete with booming expression.  
  
"WELL! What a crazy couple of days it's been, heh? Zooming around the world, escaping the law, fighting evil!"  
  
"Not that any of it helps..." Carol sighed wearily.  
  
"Oh, come on now, cheer up!" War Lilac said happily, "We've done good. We've saved the world, killed a warmonger, removed some chaff. Things're looking genuinely brighter now!" A loud horn sound caught the two off guard, causing both to suddenly jump, though War Lilac managed to easily recover, "Ooh, sounds like the truck is ready to return to the base. Let's go!"  
  
"Look, Miss..." Carol began, but stopped, "Whatever. I don't think you should come with us to the base. In fact, I don't think you should really talk to me...ever again."  
  
"What?" War Lilac asked, a sad look on her face, "But...you can't just abandon me like this, Wildcat. You apologised, we made up! You're still my friend...right?"  
  
"YOU'RE NOT MY FRIEND!" Carol screamed, pushing the dragon back, "You're just taking on her looks. The real Lilac is dead, killed by your insanity! Just as I made up with her you took her away from us all. The bestest friend someone like me could ever hope to have...extinguished. You're no Lilac, no hero. You're a heartless killer taking on her form!"  
  
"But that can change, right?" War Lilac asked, herself getting angry.  
  
"...No..." Carol sighed wearily, "No more. I'm done, Miss. For real, this time."  
  
Carol said no more, instead walking up to the truck and getting into it. The engines started up and began to roar, thick smoke pouring out of its exhaust and with Amelia sat on top of the truck itself.  
  
"No..." War Lilac said wearily, "No! You can't just leave me here again!"  
  
"We can..." Amelia sighed, "And we'll have to. Don't worry, though. I've got a few more plans for you..." she slapped the top of the truck, "Alright, Spade! Let's roll out!"  
  
The truck responded, its horn blaring a final time and then rushing forward with impressive speed. War Lilac yelped and dodged out of the way, only kneeling and watching the soldier-filled machine slowly scream into the distance. War Lilac's anger got to her and she fell to her knees, head reared towards the sky and screeching towards the heavens. She lost her temper and began to pound her fists into the ground over and over, creating a small crater in the dirt. Eventually, she stopped and slowly got to her feet again, looking out over the wasteland that used to be the Battle Glacier. The mushroom cloud had vanished by this point, leaving only a scarred stretch of land with almost no ice in sight. She didn't dare think how many must have died in the blast; wouldn't make it as fun, really. Still, she could hear something in the distance. Some kind of broadcast. From the Majister of all people! It was faint and fairly quiet at this distance, but she could still hear snippets of it;  
  
"This is the Majister to...anyone who can hear us!" the voice rang out, "This...this massive explosion has decimated the area around the Battle Glacier! Everyone's...everyone's dead! Even Mayor Zao! All available units, make your way to the Battle Glacier for cleanup and survivor rescue. At ONCE!"  
  
Tssk. Majister. He always found a way to survive. Best guess, he wasn't anywhere near the conflict itself. In fact, he was probably still safe in his palaces, surrounded by his guards. Well, that would change, War Lilac grinned to. One day...  
  
Her thoughts were stopped by something wrapping itself around her back and touching her shoulder. An arm of some kind, wearing a fingerless glove and clothed in a dark blue jacket. She turned and gasped with the shock. The creature was War Master! Or...was he? He looked similar, with the dirty brown fur and the clothing. But his eyes were not red dots. They were...normal. Red eyes in a standard white expanse. Only now they were permanently squeezed into an enraged squint, with wrinkles around the corners. His mouth was always frowning, sunken and showing no sharp fangs. He looked more...serious that War Master had even been. He looked at War Lilac, his face refusing to move a muscle. He spoke, his voice restrained and lacking energy, "Well done, Miss War. Perhaps you were a suitable replacement after all..."  
  
"Clone Master?!" War Lilac wailed, jumping back, "But...but I killed you! You can't be here!"  
  
"Correction!" the warmonger barked, "I am the REAL War Master. You just killed my clone. That disgraceful, disgusting, embarrassing waste of space. And for that, I am grateful. Perhaps you would make a great Warmonger. But your skills...need work. YOU need work."  
  
"Wait..." War Lilac looked confused, "Who are you? Are you in my head, or are you real?"  
  
"Unimportant questions that require no answers," War Master grumbled, "We've got more pressing matters to attend to. Like powering you up. See the explosion's remnants?"  
  
War Lilac looked out once more over the destruction. Same old scarred terrain. But there was something floating within it; some kind of blueish energy, like stars, circling the blast radius, "Yeah, I see it..."  
  
"That's what's left of the Kingdom Stone," War Master explained, "Or rather, its energy. You have to use it. Absorb its energies."  
  
"What? How?!"  
  
"Don't question me..." War Master growled, "DO IT."  
  
War Lilac gulped, no words escaping her throat, before she tried whatever came to her head. She held out her hand and concentrated. An ominous hum filled the area, a tingly sensation spreading across her hand and down her arm like an organic wire. The first wisps of energy slowly started to infiltrate her body, her stomach filling with hypercharged butterflies, but it was here that she first heard the voice. A small, female voice, sobbing and crying for help. War Lilac gasped and went weak, her arm falling slightly. War Master was quick to grab it, "What's wrong?"  
  
"Milla..." War Lilac gasped, "I...I heard Milla!"  
  
"YES..." War Master grinned deviously, "You're getting there. Just concentrate to the best of your abilities and absorb all of that energy! You'll get her back if you do, I promise..."  
  
War Lilac needed no more motivation. She spread her body out towards the energy and tensed, screaming, "Come on, then! Come here!"  
  
She got her wish. The energy seeped into her by the cloud-load, surging through her body like a tsunami of otherworldly power. Her body went crazy with the energy, feeling as if it was on fire, just like the electrocution only a day or so previous. War Lilac screamed again, not out of pain or fear but out of joy and the ecstatic feeling of all this energy swirling up inside her. The energy particles slowly diminished, all being absorbed by this insane dragon, thrashing in ecstasy and screeching with raw power;  
  
"COME AT ME, YOU SPARKLING SHATTERED DISCO BALL! FILL ME TO THE BRIM WITH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE!"  
  
A small scream finally ended the transference and the last of the energy dug itself into War Lilac's abdomen. She finally went limp, collapsing to the ground, giggling and cackling. Her mind was awash with thoughts just as much as her body was with power, only these thoughts were new and oddly positive; she didn't need Carol or Spade or any of the Red Scarves. Not anymore! She could feel the raw energy within her, the kind that would allow her to crush even the mightiest of foes with relative ease! To crush the multiverse itself to dust! It just felt so...GOOD!  
  
War Lilac slowly got to her feet, slowly shoving her hand in front of her face. It leaked an impressive amount of vapor, giving off an aura that rivaled the Kingdom Stone itself. A heavy breathing, far from her own, was lodged into it. It was...Milla!  
  
"Where am I?" Milla asked, her voice sobbing and echoing, "What's going on?! It's...it's dark and it's cold in here! Let me out!"  
  
"No..." War Master grinned, "We've to find a find a suitable jar for your soul. For the meanwhile, enjoy this scrap of...new life, however small and brief it may be," he grabbed War Lilac's shoulders again, "How does it feel, Miss War? Does it feel good?"  
  
"It..." War Lilac cackled, "It's GODLIKE!"  
  
"Just what I wanted to hear..." War Master grinned again, his smile even more deranged than before, "Now you see. Just because someone dies doesn't mean they're gone. Milla died, you died, I died. But now we're all...reborn. Revitalized. And ready to rip this world a new one. What do you say?"  
  
"Whatever you say, bubby boy!" War Lilac cackled, shivering, "I've got Majisters to torture! Worlds to take over! And...Red Scarves to destroy."  
  
"Good..." War Master cackled alongside her, looking out across the destruction, "You know something? I think this is going to be the start of something...wonderful..."  
  
===  
???  
===  
  
 _"Thursday, day unknown, 2016_  
  
Well, darn. Guess I couldn't interfere with the timeline after all. Oh well, it was worth a shot. I guess. Anyway, no use just sitting here and moaning about it. I've still got stuff to do, after all. It's been a few days since the Dreadnought's uh...descent. As predicted, it's wiped the Battle Glacier straight off the map and totalled a good portion of the surrounding area, like Shang Mu. Not ALL of it, thank Chaos, but most of it is still rubble. That, and the fact of no Mayor Zao means there's been a bit of a punch up, to say the least, over whoever wants to take over his role. At best, they've got a week before they all wipe each other out, so no-one to rebuild the city. I give THAT hunk of rubble another month before it looks like something from one of Traveller's many first person shooter games. How reckless.  
  
Anyway, I have been forced to leave the universe. The Elder Masters have thought the best thing to do in this circumstance is get those Zone Cops to put the universe under quarantine. No-one in or out. And I DON'T want to be stuck in such a world at war. A shame, too. Those people really needed me. I hear War Lilac was gearing up to attack the base in some energy-fuelled rage. Damage a lot of of property, wound Carol by stabbing her in the eye and straight-up kill Spade. Guess that explains how Carol could take over the Red Scarves by 2019. This is all a temporary setback, anyway. I've got all the time in the world, and I will dedicate as much as I can towards a possible cure for her condition. If that monstrous walking disaster area we call Traveller could (at least attempt to) ascend from his past, so can War Lilac. I don't care how many she's killed, everyone has a chance of redemption. I will not give up on Lilac. Unlike the sole destroyer of her sanity...  
  
Amelia Rosalina~"  
  
==============  
2019, Shang Mu Remains  
==============  
  
War Lilac woke up screaming. Her head was pounding just as fast as her heart was, she felt sick and her stomach felt like it was oozing something...important. Well, again. She groaned, looking around at her surroundings. Oh yeah, same old thing she had seen yesterday. And the day before. And the day before THAT. The same old red wasteland she had been stuck in for the past few years, a howling red expanse with dust storms and ruined casino structures everywhere. Great. Still in hell. Only now she was in pain and slowly dying. Slightly better, she guessed.  
  
The last thought in her head was War Master's words, on that fateful day of her birth. 'The start of something wonderful', indeed. Even if he genuinely was there for her few years of slaughter. But it was only now that War Lilac had, for lack of a better word, changed. All the adventures on and off world changed her, even if it never showed on the surface. Her own personality remained the same as it had ever been, but doubts had begun to creep back in. A small voice in her head, light in tone and sweet in voice. Subtle, sweet...familiar? She began doubting, thinking what else she could do, beyond just killing more and more. After all, it wasn't like they would be plentiful in the world she had created. War Master vanished soon after, never to be seen again. In fact, the last she had seen of him was...just before Traveller arrived. Well, Master. The old, unchanged version with Blade in his hands and a smile across his face. Not the Traveller she knew just before War Master returned. He too had changed, a sneer across his face and nothing but bad memories and past regrets in his mind.   
  
Perhaps one of the last things she saw before she woke up. Alongside almost everything else up to that point; meeting him in the woods, fighting in Shang Mu, defending the Kingdom Stone, killing Neera, getting...tortured and mutilated, robbed of beauty and grace. Again. It was almost funny; she had always thought whole-life flashbacks were just some dumb rumor some more unscrupulous people would mention to get some attention. But no, it was indeed real. She coughed, letting up some blood and slipping back into lying on the loose soil that made up the area. Guess she was dying, then. Shot in the stomach and left to die. Perhaps...perhaps this is what Traveller felt like the entire adventure too.  
  
She sighed, looking around again. No Carol, no soldiers, no anyone. Not even the blade she had stored Milla's soul in. Just her, alone in the world, near the library where this all started. Guess they went back to get a bodybag or something. No-one to keep an eye on her, though. Perhaps the guard went for a cigarette break. Or perhaps he didn't want to look over what he saw as a slowly rotting corpse. Perhaps...perhaps he sought it best for her to rot in the dust where he thought she belonged. Something. ANYTHING. They wouldn't abandon their main villain after years of weary fighting. Not like this. Unless...  
  
Against all of her better judgment (whatever she had of it, anyway), she called out amongst the winds, "Hello? Someone? A-ANYONE?! This isn't the best way to treat a lady, you know!"  
  
A sudden gunshot ringed out amongst her area and she grunted with the shock. It took some time, but a small shadow began to emerge from the storm. The shadow got larger, details began to mount onto its shambling form, before it all finally became clear. Crystal clear, in fact. It was Traveller, the one she had just seen in her...experience, his body wrecked and his face showing nothing but a rage-filled facade. He looked no different, some parts burned and damaged perhaps but everything else looked the same. The same old blue jacket, the same old red scarf, the same old duct-taped black trousers. The same disheveled quills. The same angry sneer. In his hand was something slightly different, however. A new gun clenched in his left hand, the same make as his Deagle .50 (or whatever), but was much different; where the previous one had been two-toned, this one was all a dulled steel grey that shone little. And while the previous one had rails and an extended barrel, this one just ended in a large in-profile compensator and only has a single rail across the barrel. It also had wooden grips, surprisingly polished despite the rest of the gun's looks. It looked like it had seen some extreme wear and tear over the years, on the verge of giving out. Perhaps best for its wielder.  
  
War Lilac was not shocked, only complacent, perhaps even cocky. She grunted in amusement, grinning and showing her fangs, "Well...what took you so long, boyo? Why not come back and kill me earlier?"  
  
"Paradox potential forces me to stay my hand," Traveller grunted in reply, checking that his new gun was still loaded after firing before, "Only thing worse than a dead world is one that one that folds in on itself sideways. But here, the die is cast. You die today. Right here, right now."  
  
"Aww, that's a shame..." War Lilac sighed, "Perhaps you could-"  
  
Traveller didn't give her the time to reply. His gun clanked, his arm thrown straight her her head. A red laser coming from somewhere within the front sight painted a red dot solely on her forehead. War Lilac gulped, but kept her cool.  
  
"So..." she began, keeping her grin, "You wanna kill me, uh? Try to erase me, try to make sure I...never existed. Like Soleanna all over again."  
  
"It won't help..." Traveller growled, his aim unwavering, "It's a large multiverse out there. There're a million of me and a million of you. Roaming, fighting, killing. Some good, some evil. Some sane, some crazy. What's the difference of one less mistake?"  
  
"Ah, you sound like me when I first started this business," War Lilac sighed, "I suppose it's too late to say I...want to redeem myself?"  
  
Traveller aimed his pistol off-kilter and fired, striking the dirt to the left of her head. She screamed in shock, her ear ringing from the blast, before she turned to face him again. Clearly, he wasn't playing around.  
  
"Don't you even DARE give me that!" Traveller barked, "You think you can save yourself after everything you've done?! I created you, War Lilac, and I will fucking END YOU!"  
  
"...Fine..." War Lilac sighed getting to her knees, "If that's the way you want to play it. You and I have killed so many people...what's one more, eh?" War Lilac chuckled, but it lasted only a second as the laser refocused on her head, which transformed the laugh into a sobbing whimper, "Please...you don't have to do this. I-I was just kidding, honest!"  
  
Traveller sighed, "Lilac? You want to know something incredible?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Amelia was right..." Traveller turned his head and closed his eyes, "...I win."  
  
He could never bring himself to see the shot. Only hear it. The loud, thundering booming sound ringing out over the hills and through the dust. The echoing crackle it left twirling around in the air and mixing with the howling of the wind. How there was a gasp of air and a slump, followed by the slight smell of blood mixing with already reddened soil. He couldn't even bear to look at his work, his latest killing. A sob escaped his throat and he sunk to the ground, eyes still squeezed shut and leaking tears, as he threw the gun into the ground like an immature child. He felt sick, a traitor...a killer. No longer near redemption, no longer beyond step one. Just a killer. Just like War Master.  
  
Another day in hell and, once more, the sky was boiling.  
  
 **THE END**


End file.
